3 Takeaways From White Sox Series Against Tigers

The White Sox have an off day on Monday as they travel to Cleveland for a three-game series against the Guardians beginning Tuesday at 4:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field.

Will Venable's club fell to 2-7 over the weekend as they were swept by the Detroit Tigers. In the first two games, the White Sox fell into early holes that they could not come back from, and on Sunday they gave up three runs in the ninth inning to lose their fifth straight games.

Here are three takeaways from the Tigers series.

1. Cannon, Martin regress in second starts

The White Sox starting rotation was near flawless the first time through, combining for 28 innings without an earned run. But it's been a different story the second time around.

Jonathan Cannon tossed five scoreless innings in his season debut against the Angels, but his second start was over after just 3.2 innings. He gave up a home run to Kerry Carpenter in the second at-bat, and struggled to control the zone with three walks and two batters hit by pitch. That led to an inefficient outing with 88 pitches and three earned runs.

After a 7-4 loss in Cannon's start, the White Sox turned to Davis Martin. The righty worked through traffic in his first start against the Angels and didn't allow an earned run across six innings. But Saturday against the Tigers, he ran into immediate trouble.

Martin gave up a leadoff double, which spiraled into a two-run first inning for the Tigers after two more hits and a fielder's choice. Carpenter stayed hot and hit a hanging curveball over the heart of the plate for his third home run in two days. The Tigers blew the game open in the third inning with a leadoff home run by Spencer Torkelson, followed by a walk and a hit by pitch. By the end of the third, Martin had given up seven earned runs.

Martín Pérez was a bright spot in the series sweep, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing just one earned run on Sunday. But after making good impressions in their debuts, Cannon and Martin took noticeable steps back in their second starts.

2. Who can Venable trust in the bullpen?

The White Sox bullpen pitched well on Saturday, as Fraser Ellard, Cam Booser and Jordan Leasure combined for three scoreless innings with one hit and two walks. The problem, though, was that they were already trailing by five runs by the time Venable turned to the bullpen.

The more concerning games for the bullpen came on Friday and Sunday. It started with Brandon Eisert relieving Cannon in the fourth and allowing a Carpenter home run in his first at-bat, followed by a double and a single in the next two to bring home another run. Eisert stayed in for the fifth and gave up his third earned run in 1.1 innings, an RBI triple, as the Tigers extended the lead to 6-1.

Bryse Wilson had a near identical start to his outing, giving up a solo home run to his second batter. That'd be Wilson's only earned run of the day, though he pitched through trouble in the seventh and eighth with two walks and two hits before a one-two-three ninth inning.

Pérez put the White Sox in position to win Sunday's game when Venable went to the bullpen with a 3-1 lead and one out with no runners on in the seventh inning. Mike Clevinger was called upon first, but he couldn't get through the inning after retiring Javier Báez and walking the next two batters. Cam Booser, Penn Murfee and Fraser Ellard got the White Sox to the ninth inning with a two-run lead, but then it all fell apart.

Ellard loaded the bases with one out after allowing a Báez single and walking two batters. Venable brought in Jordan Leasure to finish the job, but he walked in a run in his first at-bat. And after leading all game long, the White Sox fell 4-3 as Torkelson drove a walk-off double down the left field line to complete the series sweep.

This series brings into question which relievers Venable can trust in high-leverage situations. Eisert and Wilson each gave up runs in the series opener. Ellard was credited with the earned runs in Sunday's loss, though Leasure gave up the hit that brought those runners home. Clevinger walked two of the three batters he faced.

Booser and Murfee combined for two scoreless innings this series, but they've had their fair share of problems in previous games. Booser gave up a home run in each of his first two outings, and Murfee allowed three earned runs without getting an out in the White Sox 8-3 loss to the Twins on April 1.

3. Robert's slow start continues

Any momentum from Luis Robert Jr.'s strong spring training – four home runs, a .300 batting average and a .966 OPS in 57 plate appearances – seems to be gone. The former All-Star went 1-for-10 with three walks, one run and zero RBI across three games in Detroit. That puts his batting average at .161 through nine games, along with a .250 on-base percentage and a .194 slugging percentage.

Robert is the most proven major-league hitter on the roster, and the White Sox need him to come through in key situations. But with the bases loaded an no outs on Saturday, he grounded into a double play, which scored a run but quieted the rally. He also hit a weak ground ball to end the seventh inning with a runner in scoring position. On Friday, Robert chased a pitch in the dirt after a leadoff double from Miguel Vargas in the first inning, and he struck out to end the game with a runner on second.

Robert's walk percentage is at a career-high 11.1%, but he has regressed from last season in average exit velocity, hard hit rate and line drive percentage while also raising his ground ball percentage. His strikeout percentage is down 2.6% from last season, but 30.6% is still considered high, especially when he hasn't hit a home run through nine games.

There's still plenty of time for Robert to turn his season around, but early struggles coupled with an unproductive and injury-filled 2024 season raise concerns.

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