ARLINGTON, Texas — It has been a whirlwind of a week for right-hander Aaron Civale.
After being taken out of the Brewers’ rotation, he requested a trade and saw that request granted two days later when he was dealt to the White Sox.
On Sunday, he saw his new manager, Will Venable, get his second career ejection in the first inning.
“Anytime the manager goes and fights with the players, that’s an awesome sign,” said Civale, who threw five innings and allowed two runs and six hits. “When you have each other’s backs, that’s how you know you’re in a good position and the culture’s good. When you’re fighting for each other, that’s important.”
The Sox were swept with the 2-1 loss to the Rangers. They’re on a five-game losing streak and are a season-worst 26 games below .500.
The quick toss was surprising because Venable generally has a reserved demeanor. But he reached his breaking point after a ball call by plate umpire Marvin Hudson during Rangers shortstop Corey Seager’s at-bat that made it a 3-2 count, instead of a strikeout.
Venable quickly left the dugout and got in Hudson’s face. The two engaged in a back-and-forth shouting match.
“There was early frustration, you could call it,” Venable said. “And, obviously, you saw what happened.”
According to the MLB.com strike zone, Hudson made the right call as the ball was outside the zone, but Venable disagreed.
Venable has earned praise from his players for his steadiness and positive disposition. But this time, he took up for his players more demonstratively.
His ejection, however, didn’t ignite a listless Sox offense. The Sox (23-49) didn’t put up much of a fight and struggled to cash in with runners in scoring position (1-for-9).
With Ryan Noda on first with one out in the seventh inning, Josh Rojas singled to put runners on the corners. Rojas then tried stealing second but was nabbed. Mike Tauchman was called out on strikes to end the inning.
“You’re making a move, expecting to steal the base successfully,” Venable said. “It was just one of those plays where we had a little something on the pitcher. [I] thought it was a good opportunity to go, and it just didn’t work out.”
The Sox had another opportunity in the eighth inning when Andrew Benintendi hit a one-out double. Miguel Vargas flew out in the next at-bat, but Kyle Teel had a two-out single to put runners on the corners.
Teel promptly stole second, giving the Sox a prime scoring opportunity with Edgar Quero at the plate.
Quero worked a full count against reliever Cole Winn but lined out sharply to Seager to end the inning.
The Sox scored only six runs in the three-game series, and four came Saturday.
Aware of the Sox’ propensity for drawing walks — they entered Sunday tied for fourth in the majors — the Rangers pounded the strike zone.
“They were aggressive, and we just didn’t match the aggression,” Venable said. “There were pitches in the zone we weren’t able to turn around.”