White Sox Change Pitching Plans with Another Opener, Will They Keep It Up?

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable isn't rocking the boat.

One night after taking down the Cleveland Guardians behind an opener in Sean Newcomb, the White Sox will go with the same approach. Davis Martin was originally scheduled to start, but the plan is now for Chris Murphy to eat the first few outs, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers. This will mark Murphy's third start of the season.

All things considered, it's slightly surprising to see Murphy selected over some of the White Sox' other bullpen arms. However, the last two times that the lefty opened the game came against this same Guardians team in June and July. Venable is clearly valuing that experience, despite Murphy allowing 3 earned runs in his last go-around and lasting less than a full inning.

Speaking of which, it does feel like a slightly risky move considering the resurgence of Davis Martin. After returning from his IL stint, the White Sox' early-season ace has returned to form. He's allowed only a single run over his last two outings on nine total hits. The strikeout numbers have remained low, but the fact that he's gone 5.0+ innings in both has allowed many White Sox fans to take a sigh of relief.

The last thing the White Sox want to do is mess with Martin's flow at this point in the season. They need all the help they can get in the starting pitching department, especially as they try to lock in the top spot in the AL Central.

At the same time, one could argue this is exactly why Venable continues to lean on openers. The team's combined starter ERA sits at 4.62. This is currently the fifth-worst mark in baseball, with only the Reds, Astros, Athletics, and Rockies struggling more. Conversely, the White Sox' bullpen has been one of the league's most stable groups. Their 3.65 ERA is the seventh-best in the Majors, with guys like Hagen Smith, Grant Taylor, and Sean Newcomb providing great work all year long.

Is it ideal to go the opener route this late in the season? Not at all, but Venable's job is also to put this team in the best position to succeed. With those numbers in mind, it's very hard to fault him for leaning on this strategy.

The White Sox have now started 18 different pitchers this season – the majority of which have been openers. To keep opponents on their toes and relief arms fresh, he's repeatedly asked different players to carry the workload. Bryan Hudson has done it the most (6), while Newcomb is right behind him (4). Nevertheless, it's truly been a by-committee approach all season long.

So, how long can they keep this up? That's the key question. Rarely have we seen successful playoff teams enter a series without a firm rotation. However, with how inconsistent this starting group has been, it certainly possible that Venable pushes the boundaries for the remainder of the year.

Another solution could be trying to get youngsters like Hagen Smith and David Sandlin a pair of starts before the postseason arrives. Both have pitched well at times, with the former being downright electric as a late-game reliever. Could at least one rise to the occasion alongside Sean Burke, Davis Martin, and Anthony Kay?

The good news is that the White Sox still have some time to figure things out. Especially if this three-game set ends in a series win, they will be feeling that much better about possibly experimenting down the stretch. Their win on Monday officially secured them the tiebreaker over Cleveland while increasing their AL Central lead to 1.5 games. Pushing that to 2.5 on Tuesday night would be a big deal for this young squad.

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