3 Takeaways After White Sox Fall to Blue Jays in Pitchers' Duel

The Chicago White Sox lost to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, 1-0, in a pitchers' duel. They will have a rubber match tomorrow for the series.

Here are three takeaways from this early second-half loss.

Davis Martin Bounces Back in Pitchers' Duel

After a horrible last two starts that raised his ERA by 0.5, Davis Martin bounced back on Saturday. In 5.2 innings, Martin gave up four hits, one run, two walks, and struck out five batters. Will Venable made a strange decision to pull Martin with just 85 pitches in the sixth inning, but it ended up not affecting the game much as Sean Newcomb got out of the inning.

However, Shane Bieber was just the better pitcher. In six innings, Bieber gave up just three hits, zero runs, two walks, and struck out six batters. Bieber had struggled to start the season, but lowered his ERA to 5.70 in his fifth game of the season.

The Blue Jays' bullpen was fantastic, giving up just one hit and one walk across three innings of work. Meanwhile, the White Sox bullpen was as well, with Newcomb giving up just one hit and one walk in 1.1 innings of work, while Hicks had a 1-2-3 inning.

Offense Struggles After Explosion

The White Sox had just four hits on the day, striking out 10 times. Hitters were often swinging at Bieber's first offering of the at-bat, even if it was outside the zone and just looked like they were having trouble seeing his stuff.

Shortstop Colson Montgomery and catcher Kyle Teel especially looked off, with five combined strikeouts between the two.

The White Sox were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on the day. The White Sox will have to hope for a bounce-back on Sunday.

Next Up

The White Sox will have a rubber match on Sunday against the Blue Jays with Sean Burke on the mound. Burke, over his last seven appearances, has a 2.90 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.

He will hope to continue that against Toronto's postseason hero, Trey Yesavage. The rookie right-hander has a 3.72 ERA on the season, with 69 strikeouts in 75 innings. Over his last seven starts, Yesavage has struggled to a 5.21 ERA.

His control took a nosedive in his last start against the San Diego Padres, where he walked seven batters over 1.2 innings, giving up four runs in the process. The White Sox will have to be more patient to win the series against these Blue Jays.

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