Last year, Alex McRae was something of a White Sox victory cigar. He made two appearances, a pair of scoreless outings in the late innings of sizable wins over their AL Central punching bags. He allowed just one hit over three innings while striking out two, and he only threw 33 pitches. In his small way, he made easy victories even easier, and the efforts were noted.
Even though McRae may not get a chance to factor into a ballgame this year, he already was on hand for another White Sox winner. Tonight's game, which appeared to be a lopsided pitching matchup with the overhauled Aaron Civale going up against the front end of the White Sox bullpen, has been postponed until May 31.
As far as early-season weather postponements go, this one is more legit than most, what with the snow on the ground and all.
Paired with off days on Thursday and Monday, the White Sox go from having to piece together the equivalent of a start with McRae and Jonathan Stiever to having all hands on deck for the remainder of the month. The probable pitchers are all TBA right now, but Dylan Cease should be available to uphold the original plans of a Friday start on an extra day's rest, followed by Dallas Keuchel and Lucas Giolito doing the same. Carlos Rodón would then be in line for two days off after high pitch counts in consecutive starts on Tuesday, which is the same day Lance Lynn is eligible to return from the injured list from a trapezius problem the White Sox still consider most minor.
The postponement also shortens the portion of the season that was tougher than expected, as each of the White Sox's first 18 games came against teams .500 or better. The Rockies have the next-highest total with 13, although their 5-12 record goes a long way in explaining the success of their opponents.
That streak will come to an end on Friday. When the Rangers roll into Chicago, they'll be no better than 9-10 depending on the result of their afternoon tilt against the Angels, so the White Sox will be guaranteed at least one game against a team with a losing record this month. The Tigers are likely candidates for three more unless they can win out through the weekend.
