Little has gone right this season for the Chicago White Sox, who enter play Sunday 53 games under .500 after dropping the first two contests of their three-game weekend series to the Seattle Mariners.
One of the few bright spots for Chicago has been All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet, who will aim to keep the host White Sox from suffering their 14th straight loss and 16th series sweep of the season on Sunday.
As the organization monitors his workload amid an injury history, Crochet is going about his work with a blend of confidence and caution.
“I’m most happy with not only my health,” he said, “but the way my stuff has maintained throughout the season. … I’ve kind of had my good stuff for the most part every time I step out there. My pitchability has gone up. It’s working out well.”
Crochet carries the burden of trying to help the White Sox avoid matching a franchise-worst losing streak set from May 22 to June 6.
Crochet (6-7, 3.07 ERA) enters Sunday with 157 strikeouts, most in the American League. He has pitched a career high 111 1/3 innings while shifting to the starting rotation and distancing himself from 2022 Tommy John surgery that also cost him much of last season.
Crochet has reiterated his focus remains solely on pitching for the White Sox as trade rumors swirl around him; Sunday’s game could be his last in a White Sox uniform.
Manager Pedro Grifol said Crochet’s pitch count “will hover around” the 74 he threw during a 3-2 road loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.
While his past three outings have been shorter by design, Crochet hasn’t yielded a home run since June 13, a span of six straight starts.
Seattle has slugged seven home runs in the series, including back-to-back-to-back blasts in Friday’s first inning and consecutive homers in the fifth inning Saturday.
Jorge Polanco boasts three of the Mariners’ round-trippers in that span after hitting two more on Saturday. He finished with three hits and three RBIs in a 6-3 win that also featured three hits from Victor Robles.
The White Sox stranded 10 and finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The Mariners had two recent trade acquisitions make their team debuts after joining the organization Saturday. Reliever Yimi Garcia struck out two in a perfect seventh while left fielder Randy Arozarena had a hit and two strikeouts.
“This is a new family I’m going to make now,” Arozarena said. “I’m ready to give my best.”
Right-hander Bryce Miller (7-7, 3.41) is set to get the call for Seattle. He’s 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in three July starts and has pitched 16 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.
Crochet is 0-0 with a 2.16 ERA in three career appearances (one start) against the Mariners covering 8 1/3 innings. He took a no-decision at Seattle on June 13 after pitching seven innings of one-run ball with 13 strikeouts in a 3-2 White Sox victory.
Miller had a no-decision against Chicago one day earlier, striking out eight in seven shutout innings of a 2-1 Mariners win. He’s 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts versus the White Sox.
Seattle has won five of six meetings against Chicago this season. The teams end their season series on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
