Giants 12, White Sox 3: Hanser Alberto pitched

White Sox lose

Luis Robert Jr. robbed a homer, then hit a solo shot, so he finished +2 in that department.

As a whole, the Sox finished -6.

Michael Kopech gave up five, including four in the fifth inning that effectively buried the White Sox. The Sox did pull the game within a grand slam, but then Josรฉ Ruiz gave up two homers in the ninth, including a grand slam, to necessitate a mound appearance for Hanser Alberto.

Bullet points:

*The Giants had more homers (seven) than the White Sox had hits (five).

*Andrew Vaughn apparently said something to Anthony DeSclafani after hitting a weak comebacker on a 3-0 slider, because DeSclafani had words for him afterward.

*Jake Diekman and Jimmy Lambert figured out how to get through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings unscored upon.

*White Sox pitchers walked eight against just nine strikeouts.

*The game wrapped up in two hours and 36 minutes, so at least it was short.

Record: 2-3 | Box score | Statcast

Author

  • Jim Margalus

    Writing about the White Sox for a 16th season, first here, then at South Side Sox, and now here again. Letโ€™s talk curling.

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LamarJohnson

I didnโ€™t have a good feeling when you mentioned in the podcast we needed a good blowout to get in some low leverage relief. I didnโ€™t know they would use it on Hanser.

itaita

Diekman and Lambert were those guys and they actually did their jobs. It was everybody around them that sucked.

Joliet Orange Sox

Itโ€™s opening day and I’m posting this message in the comments for the game recap from Sunday, the game thread for today’s game, and now the game “recap” (as much as most of us can take) for today’s game.

Iโ€™d like to encourage everyone to have a profile picture. It adds some variety to the comments and makes it easier for me at least to associate comments from the same person with that person. There are a bunch of great profile pictures on this site. A favorite of mine is andyfaustโ€™s picture of a clown playing the organ but I enjoy seeing pictures of Bill Veeck, Nellie Fox (the picture used by GrinnellSteve not the poster).Keith Foulke,โ€ฆ It can be anything. Mine is silly with the Sox logo done in Illini colors.

Itโ€™s easy to do. Just click on your profile picture (the pinwheel by default) in the upper right corner to edit your profile and then scroll down and youโ€™ll be given the option to upload a profile picture.

StockroomSnail

Suggestion acted upon.

Joliet Orange Sox

Very nice profile pic!

BuehrleMan

Done.

I don’t comment much anymore but if nothing else it’s a great reason for me to share the greatest picture ever taken (by my best friend at the World Series parade).

funkerdan

how? I’m too drunk for this.
it doesn’t give me options, not even to pass out but that’s basically going to happen regardless

Last edited 1 year ago by funkerdan
Denman

Followed your suggestion. the pic is small but still discernable. Now I should become a patron.

funkerdan

I think my access is denied. I’ve tried it on my phone, my mac, my pc, and 5 different browsers.

funkerdan

Sweeeet! That did the trick!

Augusto Barojas

So far it took them 5 games to get completely shut down by a mediocre right handed starter. How often that happens will be among the things that determine the fate of this team.

a-t

I think that does indeed do it for everybody. They got blown out. Onto Ceaseโ€™s home debut Weds.

GrinnellSteve

Don’t waste your words, Jim.

JimMargalusBiggestFan

Not sure what to make of MK. The command has never been there, but the stuff isnโ€™t that great anymore either. Is it the knee or the arm? That wasnโ€™t a competitive outing.

I’m pro-MK personally

BenwithVen

Kopech’s knee still isn’t healthy right? Like, I don’t think he really started throwing until late January because he still wasn’t healed up enough from a surgery he had on Oct. 1st.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

Like it or not, 3/5 of the Sox rotation threw less than 130 innings last year. Maybe that’s why it would have paid to get a better and more durable 5th than Clevinger, and a better 6th than Davis Martin.

a-t

Yeah, thatโ€™s what I was thinking. That, plus there seemed to be a clear difference in stuff from windup vs stretch. He also doesnโ€™t visually look as built up as I recall him being; heโ€™s got a reputation for being a real serious gym rat, but that knee may have really prevented him from doing some of that power leg work this offseason.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

Maybe this sounds cynical, but I predict that Kopech will not have great success in games that he gives up 5 homers.

I think they left Kopech out there in the 5th hoping he could that last out to qualify for the win. Then if the Sox had a huge rally in the bottom of the inning and Diekman et al shut down the Giants the rest of the way they could talk about Kopech’s victory. I’m sure they would’ve talked about how rare it is for a pitcher who gives up 5 home runs to get a win. There’s no other way to explain leaving him out there!

FishSox

comment image

Last edited 1 year ago by FishSox
StockroomSnail

A free ticket not far from George Jacobs became available to me last night so I refuse to be dour…..

How about that…Diekman?

KaiserSouszay

I know it’s extremely early but…. Kopech should be a bullpen weapon. His fastball would play up out of the pen, and really he’s a two pitch guy anyway. But I don’t think they have another viable starter.

Augusto Barojas

Who exactly would replace Kopech in the rotation, Lambert? They are stuck with the starters they have, come hell or high water, b/c they don’t have anybody else. The only guy who might be worth trying as a starter, if they had an injury and had no other choice, might be Lopez.

Patrick Nolan

That does it for me, at least.

Patrick Nolan

Side note โ€” I paid $80 for an outfield ticket, $30 for parking, $62 to buy a round of beers for me and three others, $15 for another beer for me. I purchased zero food items in the park and basically spent $200 on this nonsense. This is why I wonโ€™t initiate a trip to the park by myself

StockroomSnail

It’s criminal.

Augusto Barojas

I can’t bring myself to go to a game without something much closer to a good faith effort by ownership. You deserve better. This ownership has about as much integrity as a low character politician.

JimMargalusBiggestFan

The weather seemed sublime.

funkerdan

lemons are sub-lime.

Oh man thatโ€™s so weird that they would have a relatively positive road trip and then absolutely get crushed at home in front of a big crowd. So out of character.

April 18, 1991

The Sox were 6-1 going into the home opener. It was the first game at the new park. The Sox lost to the Tigers 16-0. Jack McDowell got chased very early. Frank Tanana threw a complete game shutout against the Sox. This was not the dominating Frank Tanana of the 1970’s who was the ace of the Angels despite Nolan Ryan being in the same rotation. This was Frank Tanana at almost 38 years old just tricking one Sox hitter after another.

(Getting way off topic: In 1977, Tanana finished 9th in the Cy Young race despite leading AL pitchers with 8.3 bWAR and leading the AL in ERA. Cy Young voting was crazy in the 70’s.)

I remember going to a home opener when Contreras pitched and got bombed (I think by Cleveland).

OldMMJ87

That was 2007, a terrible start to a terrible season.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

I thought it would take at least 6 or 7 games to fall 2 1/2 behind the Twins.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

Even with the positives from the Astros series, it’s 5 games into the season and the Sox are two out – of second place.

As Cirensica

The Twins faced the hapless Royals so let’s not get into panic. Of course, I can easily see the White Sox being baffled by the Royals because that’s what we do.

funkerdan

short and mean. I’m glad I didn’t watch this horse poo game

SpringerDinger!

They’re already mentioning (potential) pitch tipping

a-t

yea, I was thinking along those lines

FishSox

Some of those pitches though certainly had the fat part of the plate. Everyone knew Mariano was throwing a cutter and still didn’t hit it.

FishSox

According to DeSclafani, Vaughn chirped at him about throwing a slider in a 3-0 fastball count. If you want to shut DeSclafani up, hit the damn thing hard and let your bat do the talking.

gibby32

If true, it was stupid of Vaughn. If true, it was stupid of DeSclafani. It would be more effective to just laugh at Vaughn.

Alfornia Jones

Nothing good about swinging 3-0 down 2-0 in the second inning with a man on 2nd. This is a low IQ move on a low IQ team. They continue to not have any plan. Hopefully Grifol and his hitting gurus can hold everyone accountable for changing, but so far its the same.

DeSclafini should have hugged Vaughn for swinging.

GrinnellSteve

An old friend alert: Johnny Cueto is going in for an MRI after leaving yesterday’s game with right bicep tenderness. He gave up 3 hits (2 homers) and a walk in just 1 inning.

I loved everything he brought to last year’s awful team, but we may have dodged a bullet in not resigning him. I hope it all turns out OK and he’s back weaving his magic soon. Baseball can use more Johnny Cuetos.

burning-phoneix

Ignoring Kopech’s dismal day (Don’t know if he’s legit busted, rusty from surgery or tipping pitches), how does a FO spend so much on the Bullpen and still have such a mediocre one? We were doing better picking out the bargain bin with the likes of Evan “Marshall Law” tossing some innings.