Swept, shut out and thrown out, the White Sox and manager Pedro Grifol began the second half of the season a lot like their “painful” first half.
A 4-0 loss to the Dodgers before a rare sellout crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field marked the 12th time the Sox were shut out and 13th time they were swept in a series.
While the first half may have been a mixed bag for performance, as manager Grifol suggested before the game, it has mostly been a bad bag.
“At times we don’t see the improvement we want to see and at times we do,” manager Grifol said Wednesday. “At times we see setbacks. And at times we see a lot of steps forward. It’s been inconsistent. Obviously, our record is not where we want it to be. At times it’s painful.”
Grifol was ejected for arguing balls and strikes before the sixth inning with the Sox trailing 4-0. The ejection was his second of the season and seventh of his career.
Gavin Stone, 8-1, 2.03 ERA in his last 11 starts, pitched a four-hit shutout, the first of his career, Shohei Ohtani led off against Erick Fedde with a homer for the second consecutive night and Freddie Freeman scored two runs with a double in a three-run third for the Dodgers, who dropped the Sox to 0-11-1 in their last 12 series.
Ohtani’s homer, his 25th of the season, gave him an RBI in 10 consecutive games, a Dodgers record.
Fedde allowed four runs, five hits and one walk and struck out five on 88 pitches.
“The pitch I’d like back is the pitch to Freeman,” Fedde said.
The Sox were 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position in the series.
Sheets leaves with jammed heel
Right fielder Gavin Sheets left the game before the sixth inning with a jammed left heel rounding second and stopping abruptly on a double. X-rays were negative and he’s day-to-day.
Rest for rotation; bullpen day Thursday
Rookie right-hander Drew Thorpe was pushed back from Thursday’s scheduled start against the Braves to Friday against the Rockies as extra rest is allowed for the Sox’ young arms reaching the season’s mid point.
A bullpen day is planned for Thursday’s makeup game and former Sox lefty Chris Sale (10-2, 2.91 ERA).
Thorpe, rookie Jonathan Cannon and Garrett Crochet will face the Rockies in order at home this weekend on five days rest.
“We’ve got to find days,” Grifol said. “We’ve got to buy days, we’ve got to buy innings, we’ve got to buy pitches. It’s a long season, and we’ve got half a season left.”
Clevinger returns to rehab assignment
Innings won’t come soon from right-hander Mike Clevinger, who had been nearing an end to a rehab assignment for elbow inflammation but was returned to a rehab stint with a stiff neck. Clevinger will restart the rehab process Tuesday and Wednesday.
Grifol suggested having Clevinger back could allow for a six-man rotation.
Thorpe and Cannon staying in the rotation for an extended period “is not the wrong assumption,” Grifol said. “But it’s not etched in stone.”
Listen to the crowd!
Wednesday marked the first sellout (36,225) at Guaranteed Rate since last July 25 and 26 against the Cubs. It was the Sox’ first weekday sellout of a game not on Opening Day or against the Cubs since July 23, 2012 vs. the Twins.
Crowds of 25,070 and 23,662 attended Monday and Tuesday’s games against the Dodgers. Wednesday’s bump was attributed to a jersey giveaway on Mexican Heritage Night.
“It was a phenomenal crowd,” Grifol said. “It gives you a little taste of what it can really be like.
“We just couldn’t take advantage of it.”