Shohei Ohtani homers again, Dodgers jump to early 4-0 lead on White Sox at sold-out Guaranteed Rate
Eighty-one down, 81 to go.
That’s where the White Sox stood entering Wednesday’s game against the Dodgers with a 21-60 record, the worst in baseball.
It’s been a mixed bag, but with lots of bad in the bag.
“At times we don’t see the improvement we want to see and at times we do,” manager Pedro Grifol said Wednesday. “At times we see setbacks. And at times we see a lot of steps forward. It’s been inconsistent. Obviously our record is not where we want it to be. At times it’s painful."
With one of their best starters, Erick Fedde, pitching, the Sox fell behind by four runs early and appeared headed to opening the second half with another loss. Shohei Ohtani led off with a homer for the second straight night and Freddie Freeman scored two runs with a double in a three-run third as L.A. went after a three-game series sweep before a rare sellout crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox are 0-11-1 in their last 12 series.
Ohtani's homer, his 25th of the season, gave him an RBI in 10 straight games, a Dodgers record.
Right-hander Gavin Stone took a shutout into the sixth inning.
Rest for rotation; bullpen day Thursday
Rookie right-hander Drew Thorpe was pushed back from Thursday’s start against the Braves to Friday against the Rockies, a move in concert with allowing extra rest for the Sox’ young arms reaching the season’s mid point.
A bullpen day is now planned for Thursday’s makeup game against the Braves and former Sox lefty Chris Sale (10-2, 2.91 ERA).
Thorpe, rookie Jonathan Cannon and Garrett Crochet will face the Rockies in order at home this weekend, all on five days rest.
“We’ve got to find days,” Grifol said. “We’ve got to buy days, we’ve got to buy innings, we’ve got to buy pitches. It’s a long season, and we’ve got half a season left.”
Clevinger returns to rehab assignment
Innings won’t come soon from right-hander Mike Clevinger, who had been on a rehab assignment for elbow inflammation and was nearing a return but returned instead to his rehab stint with a stiff neck. Clevinger will restart the rehab process Tuesday and Wednesday.
Grifol suggested having Clevinger back could allow for a six-man rotation.
Thorpe and Cannon have both had good and bad starts in the debut seasons but are considered potential components of future rotations. Asked if they were here to stay for the rest of the season, Grifol said, “it’s not the wrong assumption. But it’s not etched in stone. Nothing is, really.
“Nothing’s really black and white here, we live in the gray, especially when we’re trying to develop some guys in the big leagues, especially pitchers. It’s not the same throwing 150 innings in the minor leagues as it is throwing 150 innings in the big leagues.”
Listen to the crowd!
Wednesday marked the first sellout at Guaranteed Rate since last July 25 and 26 against the Cubs. It was the Sox' first weekday sellout of a game not on Opening Day or against Cubs since July 23, 2012 vs. Minnesota.
Crowds of 25,070 and 23,662 attended Monday and Tuesday for the Dodgers and Shoehei Ohtani. Wednesday's bump was attributed to a jersey giveaway on Mexican Heritage Night.