We highlighted the pitfalls of the White Sox lineup yesterday, most notably Adam Dunn and his lack of hitting singles. We never knew later on that night just about everything we pointed out would come true. Ask Chris Sale about it.
Chris Sale is a really good pitcher. The 6’6” hard-throwing lefty out of Gulf Coast College (you remember that school, right?) was 17-9 last year with an ERA hovering around the mid 2.00s for most of the year. This year, he is only 5-5, but is actually pitching better as he sits with a 2.43 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP, which is good for 3rd in both categories amongst all American League starters. But last night, Sale ran into a bit of bad luck AKA the terribleness of the White Sox lineup. In eight complete-game innings, he totaled 14 strikeouts, 0 earned runs, 5 hits, and 1 walk – and he took the loss. Quite possibly one of the better pitching performances this year, and he takes one on the chin – against the Astros no less – due to a throwing error in the 5th that allowed a run to score. Another unearned run was tacked on later that inning to cement the 2-to-1 victory.
So there you have it – the two teams that brought us one of the least watched World Series ever are again making headlines for baseball’s version of the Darwin Awards. Next up on the schedule? Two of the league’s worst-hitting teams – the NY Mets and Minnesota Twins. I feel sorry for them as Sale will undoubtedly unleash the fury on those poor guys.
[CBS Sports, SI, Yahoo, YouTube]
