TORONTO — Just when things were looking up for the White Sox’ offense, Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios shut it down.
A day after Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi slugged tape-measure home runs, the Sox only mustered two hits off Berrios in a 7-1 loss Saturday.
Jays shortstop Bo Bichette led off with a 410-foot home run to center field in the first inning, and Toronto pounced on Sox starter Aaron Civale for three runs and five singles in the second inning. But Civale settled in for seven innings, which were badly needed with a depleted bullpen.
Miguel Vargas smacked a triple in the sixth inning and later scored on a throwing error, but that was it for the Sox.
The Jays tagged rookie reliever Jacob Palisch for two runs and three hits in his major-league debut in front of 41,488.
“It’s certainly intense,” Palisch said. “I’d like to say I was feeling it, but I think I might have blacked out a little bit at first. You kind of lose track of everything that’s going on, other than just that pitch and working through it.”
Jonny on the mend
Right-handed starter Jonathan Cannon expects to be back in action soon after landing on the injured list with a back injury. He tweaked it last month while fielding a grounder in Cincinnati.
After two successful bullpen sessions last week, he’ll head to Triple-A Charlotte for a rehab start Tuesday, and he could be back with the Sox soon after.
Cannon, 24, who has been passing the time in the clubhouse between rehab work with daily crossword puzzles alongside Tyler Gilbert and other Sox relievers, said he was finally “feeling back to normal.”
He has a 2-7 record with a 4.66 ERA and 51 strikeouts.
“There’s a very fine line between sore and injured, and sometimes that line gets blurred a little bit,” Cannon said. “We’re all competitors. We want to go out there every fifth day and start, and sometimes you feel like you’re letting the team down a little bit if you’re not going out.”
New-look Noda
New Sox first baseman Ryan Noda looks like a different person on the field — literally.
You might not recognize the blue-eyed Volo native in the clubhouse compared to when he suits up with his red contact lenses, which act like sunglasses.
Former Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski wore similar lenses back when Noda was watching the Sox, growing up in northwest suburban Fox Lake.
“Some people get a little nervous because they’re like, ‘Wow, your eyes are really red,’ ’’ Noda said.
Noda went 1-for-3 with a walk as the designated hitter batting leadoff, a lineup move that had some fans scratching their heads a day after Noda wore the golden sombrero with four strikeouts while batting seventh in the Sox’ series-opening win.
“The quality at-bat up front, being in the DH spot, gives us the opportunity to win that matchup at the top of our order throughout the game,’’ manager Will Venable said of Noda, who started his career in the Jays’ organization. “With some of our restrictions, it just made sense.”