Connect with us

Published

on

CHICAGO — It took a few days, but the White Sox may have won over their fan base — at least for the moment — in their home finale after sweeping the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday and, in the process, avoiding a record 121st loss of the season.

The White Sox began the series Tuesday to a cascade of boos as well as chants of “Sell the team” even after winning the first two games of the series. But fans came around in the finale, a 7-0 win, giving an ovation to starter Chris Flexen when he came off the mound after tossing 6⅓ shutout innings, then again after the final out.

“It was awesome, especially after the last couple of nights, hearing boos after winning a game,” Flexen said afterward. “It’s been tough, but to get that ovation was pretty special.”

Chicago scored seven runs in the fifth inning, its highest-scoring inning of the season, to help stave off history. The White Sox are tied with the 1962 Mets for the most losses in a single season in modern day history (since 1900) but finish the year against the red-hot Detroit Tigers this weekend.

They’ll need another sweep to avoid owning the record outright. They’re 39-120 after Thursday’s win.

“It’s going to be a fun atmosphere there,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “Those guys are playing for the postseason and we’re going there to compete and not make it easy.”

Sizemore said he has been wearing the same undershirt all week — though it has been washed — as the wins have piled up. His team completed just its second sweep of the season while delivering the Angels their 96th loss of the year, a franchise record. The sweep comes as the focus on the team has solely been on it setting the record. Media from all over the country descended on Chicago in anticipation of breaking the record Thursday, but the White Sox had other plans.

“It was a fun last home game,” Sizemore said. “I think [the players have] done a great job of separating and not letting all that external stuff get to them. We’ve been playing a lot better lately.”

Chicago is 6-5 over its past 11 games, the best 11-game stretch since May, but it will need another three wins to keep it tied with the Mets for most losses since 1900. The White Sox haven’t won six in a row since May 2022. The team is also 1-9 against the Tigers this year.

At least the White Sox leave their home park with fans cheering instead of booing. It’s not the way the week began.

“Fan support is huge,” first baseman Andrew Vaughn said. “Gives us energy, gives us life.”

Flexen added: “Different feeling today than the last couple days, which was nice.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

Published

on

By

Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

Continue Reading

Sports

Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

Published

on

By

Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

Published

on

By

Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

Continue Reading

Trending