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BOSTON — The Chicago White Sox brought the infield in after Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran advanced from second base to third on a wild pitch with one out in the fourth inning.
The White Sox were already down two runs. And wanted to keep it that way.
Starter Sean Burke, a native of Sutton, Mass., stepped up. He got Andruw Monasterio to pop out in foul territory to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. Burke then struck out Connor Wong to end the inning, stranding Duran on third.
“It was bearing down and understanding what I had in that situation,” Burke said. “Just doing what I could with the fastball, doing what I could with the breaking stuff to make pitches. Runner on third, less than two outs, kind of going for a punchout there. I was able to get the popout and then the punchout to end it.
“Little moments like that you can take away, but overall kind of just frustrated with the lack of command, the lack of feel for the stuff.”
It’s been a frustrating series so far for the White Sox, who lost 4-0 on Wednesday in front of a sellout crowd of 37,517 at Fenway Park.
The White Sox were limited to four hits, two by Miguel Vargas. They have been outscored 18-2 in the first two games of the series after being crushed 14-2 on Tuesday. It’s the eighth time they’ve been shut out this season.
“It’s a tough one, obviously (Red Sox starter) Sonny Gray had really good stuff tonight,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Thought, especially the lefties, you saw a lot of spin early in the zone that we didn’t fire on. And then later in counts, chasing the spin below.
“He had a lot of different ways he was attacking us and we just didn’t have many solutions.”
Burke allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. It was the second time in his career pitching at Fenway Park. He felt like his breaking ball wasn’t as sharp as it has been.
“It’s definitely cool (pitching close to home),” Burke said. “I think it adds to the frustration. One of the few times a bunch of my friends and family, people I grew up with, can come watch me. And for me not to have my best stuff tonight sucks. Especially coming off of the game yesterday, I want to come out and give us a good start.”
The Red Sox scored their first run with two outs in the first. Wilyer Abreu singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Willson Contreras.
Abreu hit a home run with two outs in the third, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
Burke escaped the jam in the fourth. He exited after allowing a one-out walk in the fifth, having thrown 91 pitches.
“Just maybe not his best stuff,” Venable said. “I thought the fastball was OK, but some of the cutters and sliders just not as sharp as we’ve seen them in the last few starts. I don’t think anything major, just not as sharp as we’ve seen in the last few.”
Gray was in command, allowing three hits in six scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two.
“He was just in command of every pitch and was getting ahead early and then flipping in the offspeed pretty well,” Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci said. “And I think a lot of us, including myself, were letting the offspeed kind of just flip in and then we were getting behind early. If we had another chance at it, I think just be ready to attack right from the get-go, fastball, offspeed, no matter what it is.”
The best scoring chance for the White Sox came in the third. Antonacci got hit by a pitch with two outs. Murakami reached on a walk. Vargas then hit a grounder near the third-base line. Boston third baseman Caleb Durbin made a nice diving stop, but his throw to first was a little off the mark and Vargas reached on an infield hit. Antonacci kept running, attempting to score from second on the play. He was thrown out at the plate.
“Saw Durbin lay out for it and trusted my gut,” Antonacci said. “Just trying to get kind of a jump start and get a run across the board. But looking back at it, the whole play was right in front of (Red Sox first baseman) Contreras, and the amount of years he’s been in the league, that’s an easy play for him.
“Looking back, it’s just a ball you’ve got to stay put at third on and let Colson (Montgomery, who was due up next) hit us in.”
Despite the loss, the White Sox (59-54) maintained their three-game lead in the American League Central over second-place Cleveland (57-58). The Guardians lost 6-5 to the New York Mets in 10 innings on Wednesday.
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The White Sox were already down two runs. And wanted to keep it that way.
Starter Sean Burke, a native of Sutton, Mass., stepped up. He got Andruw Monasterio to pop out in foul territory to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. Burke then struck out Connor Wong to end the inning, stranding Duran on third.
“It was bearing down and understanding what I had in that situation,” Burke said. “Just doing what I could with the fastball, doing what I could with the breaking stuff to make pitches. Runner on third, less than two outs, kind of going for a punchout there. I was able to get the popout and then the punchout to end it.
“Little moments like that you can take away, but overall kind of just frustrated with the lack of command, the lack of feel for the stuff.”
It’s been a frustrating series so far for the White Sox, who lost 4-0 on Wednesday in front of a sellout crowd of 37,517 at Fenway Park.
The White Sox were limited to four hits, two by Miguel Vargas. They have been outscored 18-2 in the first two games of the series after being crushed 14-2 on Tuesday. It’s the eighth time they’ve been shut out this season.
“It’s a tough one, obviously (Red Sox starter) Sonny Gray had really good stuff tonight,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Thought, especially the lefties, you saw a lot of spin early in the zone that we didn’t fire on. And then later in counts, chasing the spin below.
“He had a lot of different ways he was attacking us and we just didn’t have many solutions.”
Burke allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. It was the second time in his career pitching at Fenway Park. He felt like his breaking ball wasn’t as sharp as it has been.
“It’s definitely cool (pitching close to home),” Burke said. “I think it adds to the frustration. One of the few times a bunch of my friends and family, people I grew up with, can come watch me. And for me not to have my best stuff tonight sucks. Especially coming off of the game yesterday, I want to come out and give us a good start.”
The Red Sox scored their first run with two outs in the first. Wilyer Abreu singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Willson Contreras.
Abreu hit a home run with two outs in the third, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
Burke escaped the jam in the fourth. He exited after allowing a one-out walk in the fifth, having thrown 91 pitches.
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“Just maybe not his best stuff,” Venable said. “I thought the fastball was OK, but some of the cutters and sliders just not as sharp as we’ve seen them in the last few starts. I don’t think anything major, just not as sharp as we’ve seen in the last few.”
Gray was in command, allowing three hits in six scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two.
“He was just in command of every pitch and was getting ahead early and then flipping in the offspeed pretty well,” Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci said. “And I think a lot of us, including myself, were letting the offspeed kind of just flip in and then we were getting behind early. If we had another chance at it, I think just be ready to attack right from the get-go, fastball, offspeed, no matter what it is.”
The best scoring chance for the White Sox came in the third. Antonacci got hit by a pitch with two outs. Murakami reached on a walk. Vargas then hit a grounder near the third-base line. Boston third baseman Caleb Durbin made a nice diving stop, but his throw to first was a little off the mark and Vargas reached on an infield hit. Antonacci kept running, attempting to score from second on the play. He was thrown out at the plate.
“Saw Durbin lay out for it and trusted my gut,” Antonacci said. “Just trying to get kind of a jump start and get a run across the board. But looking back at it, the whole play was right in front of (Red Sox first baseman) Contreras, and the amount of years he’s been in the league, that’s an easy play for him.
“Looking back, it’s just a ball you’ve got to stay put at third on and let Colson (Montgomery, who was due up next) hit us in.”
Despite the loss, the White Sox (59-54) maintained their three-game lead in the American League Central over second-place Cleveland (57-58). The Guardians lost 6-5 to the New York Mets in 10 innings on Wednesday.
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