White Sox 4, Angels 0: Only rain can stop Vince Velasquez

Little did we know that Vince Velasquez only needed the White Sox offense to see one pitch in order to generate all the offense he needed.

Tim Anderson belted José Suarez’s first-pitch fastball over the right field wall for a 1-0 lead, and Velasquez and four White Sox relievers made it hold up around a 61-minute rain delay for a sorely needed victory.

Velasquez, facing the potential loss of his rotation spot with Johnny Cueto near ready, did everything he could to warrant further turns. He limited the Angels to four singles over 5⅔ innings while striking out six, all of them involving the top four hitters of the Anaheim lineup.

Velasquez allowed a single to open his afternoon, but he only dealt with one tense inning, and that had more to do with the weather than anything else. He allowed a pair of two-out singles as rain threatened to halt the game before the 4½-inning mark and the Sox clinging to that 1-0 lead, and Velasquez didn’t sense any urgency with his pace.

But maybe he knew better. First, he got David Fletcher to fly out harmlessly to center field to make the game official, and then Luis Robert finally gave the White Sox a crooked number by taking Suarez southbound for a three-run homer and a 4-0 lead.

In the end, the only thing the rain denied was a quality start, as Velasquez’s battle with Mike Trout with two outs in the sixth was interrupted by a downpour eight pitches in, even though neither contestant seemed particularly eager to leave.

When play resumed, Tanner Banks stood atop the mound instead of Velasquez, and he retired Trout with a changeup to end the sixth. Aaron Bummer pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, Kendall Graveman worked around two singles in the eighth, and Liam Hendriks survived three hard-hit balls around a walk, including a leaping grab by Harrison to end the game.

Velasquez settled for 5⅔ scoreless innings, his first win, and an ERA that dropped to 4.58. His fastball did the heavy lifting in terms of whiffs — nine of his 13 over 78 pitches — but it was set up by effective breaking balls, particularly a curveball that grabbed a ton of strikes.

The White Sox offense could’ve scored more than four runs, as it outhit the Angels 10-6, and had a 3-1 edge in free bases (two walks, one HBP). The leadoff man reached in each of the first six innings, but they could only see a rally through in the fifth. Harrison led off with a double, and while he didn’t advance on a Tim Anderson bouncer that clipped third base for an infield single, he could trot the rest of the way on Robert’s blast.

Those were White Sox’s only two hits with runners in scoring position, as they went 2-for-12 overall. Two homers helped ease that pain.

Bullet points:

*AJ Pollock recorded his first two hits since returning to the lineup. He had been 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts since his hamstring injury.

*Pollock played in place of Andrew Vaughn, who was dealing with a sore wrist after an HBP on Friday. At least the defensive outfield of Pollock, Robert and Adam Engel is the best possible permutation in that regard.

*Harrison had a perfect day at the plate, singling, doubling and getting hit by a pitch.

*Velasquez even astounded himself.

Record: 8-12 | Box score | Statcast

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