Bryse Wilson Puts Together Longest Outing As White Sox Defeat Marlins 6-2

CHICAGO – The White Sox didn’t let a four-game sweep in Kansas City, where they were outscored 19-4, get them down. According to first-year manager Will Venable, they entered Friday’s series opener against the Marlins with the same level-headed mentality they’ve carried all season.

"I've seen the same thing from them every single day and that's no matter what happens the day before. We come to the ballpark excited, expecting to play well, expecting to win. And that's the vibe I get today,” Venable said pregame. “Which is, again, what I've seen from these guys every day."

That translated to a win Friday at Rate Field as the White Sox defeated the Marlins 6-2 to snap their four-game losing streak. White Sox starter Bryse Wilson put together perhaps his best outing of the season, and a three-run outburst in the seventh broke the tie. With this win, the White Sox improved to 11-28 ahead of Saturday’s 6:10 p.m. CT first pitch.

Things didn’t begin as positive for the White Sox as the Marlins quickly took the lead against Wilson, who walked leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards on four pitches. Edwards stole second base, and Jesus Sanchez singled him home to give Miami a 1-0 lead two batters into the game. The Marlins threatened to score again as Wilson’s pick-off attempt to second base zipped into center field, but he wiggled out of trouble with a lineout and a groundout.

Wilson gave up a double to Connor Norby to begin the second inning, but from that point on he was as sharp as he’s been all season. The right-hander retired 12 of the next 14 batters from the second through fifth innings, including a softly hit single by Sanchez and another four-pitch walk to Edwards.

"First inning there, kind of scattered, a little erratic. And then he did a good job settling down, and he made pitches, let our defense do their job,” Venable said. “It was a good job by Bryse after a rough start to settle down and be efficient."

He finished with five innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks and a strikeout, good for his longest start of the year. In his previous two starts, Wilson allowed four and three earned runs, respectively, so Friday’s outing was a definite step in the right direction.

"It was good. I executed a lot more pitches,” Wilson said. “I finally kind of felt like I have the past couple years and just kind of got in a rhythm. We were able to put together a good outing.”

"I felt like I'd thrown the ball well the last two outings before today and just didn't get the results that I wanted. But today I felt like it was kind of coming together and I'm kind of feeling like my normal self."

Wilson threw 83 pitches on Friday and 89 in his last start, following two previous outings with pitch counts of 55 and 58. He had to be stretched out from his role as a reliever to begin the season, but now he feels comfortable pitching deep into games.

"Yeah, absolutely. I think here going forward, I feel like I can throw 100 pitches every time out and the body's gonna hold up,” Wilson said. “So yeah, I think we're in a good spot there."

The White Sox gave Wilson some run support in the second with a pair of hard-hit balls. Andrew Vaughn crushed a fastball down the middle 403 feet to right-center field to tie the game, and Michael A. Taylor gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead in the second. He scorched a double with a 111.3 mph exit velocity to the gap to score Brooks Baldwin, who Meyer hit by pitch.

Venable is starting to see some positives with Vaughn. He was batting .135 on April 19, but has since gone 17-for-70, a .243 batting average, with two home runs and seven RBI.

"Yeah, for sure. And for a while. He has put good swings on it,” Venable said. “For him and for all our guys, it's about not chasing. Leading up to that homer, he took three close pitches, one of them was a strike. That's the result you want in the process, where he's able to control the zone and not miss good pitches to hit."

For a good portion of Friday’s game, though, the White Sox had no answer for Meyer. The former No. 3 overall pick allowed just one base runner in a four-inning stretch through the sixth, a Matt Thaiss walk. The Marlins tied the game 2-2 in the seventh with a solo home run from Liam Hicks off Caleb Freeman.

But as Meyer’s pitch count rose, the White Sox took advantage of the right-hander’s mistakes. Rojas led off the seventh with a first-pitch single, and Lenyn Sosa moved him to third with a double to the left field corner. Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers made an impressive catch to rob Baldwin of a hit – hauling it in as he collided with the wall – but it was enough for Rojas to tag up and give the White Sox a 3-2 lead.

Meyer’s day was done after the White Sox loaded the bases with just one out. He walked Taylor and Miguel Vargas, and Jake Amaya extended the lead to 4-2 with a well-placed bunt single. Meyer tried to make a sliding play, but he couldn’t field it cleanly.

Right-hander Ronny Henriquez replaced Meyer and immediately walked Thaiss on four pitches, bringing home a run. But he struck out Luis Robert Jr. and Vaughn on sliders to escape the jam. Meyer finished with 6.1 innings, five hits, five earned runs, three walks and five strikeouts.

The White Sox picked up some insurance in the eighth as Rojas hustled to second on a fielding error, then scored on a wild pitch. After four losses on the road, the White Sox felt good back at home.

"It's always nice to play in front of your home fans,” Venable said. “The fans, even though it's still cold, they're coming out and supporting us, which we always appreciate. It's always nice to play at home, and playing well at home is even better."

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