Left-hander Sean Newcomb had gotten the White Sox out of a jam in the seventh inning and kept the Guardians off the board in the eighth, maintaining a one-run lead. Having thrown 42 pitches in his three-inning start Saturday in Detroit, Newcomb assured manager Will Venable and pitching coach Zach Bove that he could close out the game Tuesday.
“I got through the second [inning] there, and I came in and kind of had a feeling they would appreciate me to say I was good for the next one,” Newcomb said. “I could see it in their eyes. I told them I was good. I look forward to those opportunities.”
He delivered, retiring the side in order in the ninth to give the Sox a 2-1 victory and sole possession of first place in the American League Central by one game over the Guardians. Three days after opening a game with three perfect innings, Newcomb pitched near-perfect ball for the last 2 ⅔ innings, allowing only a walk among his 45 pitches.
“That was special,” Venable said. “He’s been around this league a long time and has an understanding of his body and where he’s at. I think that definitely pushed him to the limit there, specifically with the previous workload that he’s had. But he wanted the ball and obviously did a great job.”
Newcomb spared the Sox from having to tap into a drained bullpen. High-leverage relievers Seranthony Dominguez, Bryan Hudson and Grant Taylor were unavailable, the former and latter having pitched Sunday and Monday — and poorly, at that — and the middle throwing 1 ⅓ innings (23 pitches) Monday.
So after right-hander Sean Burke lasted 6 ⅓ innings, throwing 90 pitches, the game became Newcomb’s to finish.
“That’s just kind of the nature of my role, just willing to throw a lot of innings, big chunks whenever I can,” Newcomb said. “Not being one of the five starters, that’s the best way to do it. It felt good.”
Newcomb has allowed the opposite to score in just two of his last 19 appearances, dating to April 24. Even after suffering a bruise on a line drive off his left triceps two outings ago at Yankee Stadium, Newcomb is no worse for wear.
But when can he possibly come to the rescue again to save a struggling Sox bullpen?
“Usually in that 40-50 [pitch] range, [I need] a couple days just to get me feeling good,” Newcomb said. “I kind of think of it like a starter. You go through a start, wait a day or two, throw a side [session]. Obviously, sides and games are different, but you’re able to use that first day as a big recovery day.
“The second day, get the body moving. Usually Day 3, I’m ready to throw a little bit — usually not three ups like that, but the night kind of called for it. The pen was kind of taxed, so I knew it was big for the squad.”
“You’re going to have to give him a couple days, and that’s probably at the minimum,” Venable said. “And then from there you just trust the player to give you feedback on where he’s at. Obviously, taking on that kind of load is a lot, so [you] want to communicate and be proactive with that as we get through these next couple days.”
The Sox scored in the fourth on Colson Montgomery’s two-out single and in the sixth on Miguel Vargas’ 17th home run of the season. The Guardians’ only run came in the fifth on rookie Kahlil Watson’s first career homer. The victory improved the Sox’ record in one-run games this season to 16-8 (.667). In 2023-25, the team went 47-95 (.331) in such games.
“When I signed here, I was talking to [pitcher Mike] Vasil; they had something like 30 one-run losses last year,” Newcomb said. “So coming in, the bullpen started getting built up. That was a big sign that we’re going in a good direction.”