The White Sox are on an actual winning streak. And it’s clear how much better they’re feeling.
“It’s fun,” second baseman Nicky Lopez said after they beat the Guardians 3-1 on Saturday. “Winning cures everything.”
That’s not something the Sox could’ve said just a few weeks ago. They started 3-22 and looked like a threat to break franchise and big-league records for futility. No, they’re not anywhere close to contention, but at least they have some positives to build on.
They’ve won four in a row, are 6-4 in May and have a chance to sweep a four-game series against Cleveland.
“Think about it: We went through probably the worst 25 games in White Sox history, and we very easily could’ve won at least a handful of those,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “That hurt. They were heartbreakers. How many times did I stand up here and say that was a heartbreaker?
“These guys never stopped working; they never stopped fighting. They’re really, really close in there. They play together. Now they’re expecting to win, and that’s the key.”
This game met their expectations.
Making his second start of the season, Mike Clevinger pitched 4‰ innings and was considerably better than in his debut on Monday, when he allowed four runs (three earned) in two innings in a loss to the Rays. Over 73 pitches, Clevinger struck out five, with the Guardians’ only run coming on Josh Naylor’s home run in the fourth inning.
Grifol said he expected Clevinger to make some adjustments and feel more comfortable than in his outing against Tampa Bay. That would figure because Clevinger is still not fully ramped up after signing late.
“That’s been a challenge, but I try not to think about it too much,” Clevinger said. “You know you’re going to get a pitch count; you’re still kind of building. Still trying to keep it in perspective.”
With Clevinger not ready to go too deep into games, the Sox needed their bullpen to eat innings. It did, throwing 4„ hitless innings. Tim Hill threw 1„ innings, and Jared Shuster followed with two. John Brebbia earned the save, as Michael Kopech was being rested and wasn’t available.
“They’ve been rock solid, especially [Brebbia] taking the ball,” Clevinger said. “It seems like almost every night he’s up for the challenge. It’s been great to see.”
The Sox’ offense wasn’t exactly great, but it did just enough.
In the second inning, Lopez drove in his first run of the season with a double down the right-field line, bringing in Paul DeJong. Lopez scored when Martin Maldonado singled for the Sox’ second run. Andrew Benintendi added to the Sox’ lead in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to left that drove in Andrew Vaughn.
“That’s comical,” Lopez said with a laugh about driving in his first run on May 11. “It’s good. Obviously, you guys know the first month and a half has been tough for all of us, but we’ve all been through it together, and you can see that we’re enjoying it right now, and we’re reaping the benefits.”
The Sox got the benefit of another win and more rewards for the work Lopez sees everybody doing.
“Early on it was like, ‘When is it going to show? We’re putting in the work; when is it going to turn our way for once?’ ” Lopez said. “We lost a lot of one-run games, and now it’s finally flipping. We’re doing the right things, we’re doing the little things right, picking up the ball, doing the timely hitting, moving the runners and driving them in.”
