How on earth can White Sox right-hander David Sandlin top his major-league debut, in which he retired 18 consecutive hitters after allowing a leadoff home run?
‘‘Well, if he doesn’t throw a no-hitter, it might be a failure,’’ Sox pitching coach Zach Bove joked Sunday.
A no-no certainly would be an improvement, but not by a lot. Sandlin, a 6-4, 220-pounder with a fastball that reached 97.7 mph in the Sox’ 15-2 drubbing of the Twins on Wednesday, will see them again Monday, this time at Target Field.
Sandlin, 25, handled the Twins like a seasoned pro, allowing one hit — the homer to Byron Buxton — with four strikeouts and no walks in six innings. He threw only 61 pitches, 41 for strikes. And according to Elias, the 18 consecutive batters Sandlin retired were the most by a Sox pitcher in his major-league debut in the last, oh, 100 years.
‘‘It was great for him to have that success, especially in his debut,’’ Bove said. ‘‘But the next day is like, ‘What went well? What are some things we can do better?’ And then it’s on to the next week.
‘‘Obviously, he’s facing the same team, so we’re not going to overthink that. He’s kind of familiar with those guys; they’re familiar with him.’’
Something will have to give, but that hasn’t been a Sox starter lately. Since Sandlin’s debut, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay and Sean Burke allowed one run each in starts of five to six innings. In the other game, opener Brandon Eisert and Erick Fedde combined to allow two runs in 5⅓ innings.
Schultz, Smith updates
Rookie left-hander Noah Schultz, whom the Sox put on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to last Monday) with tendinitis in his right knee, threw well in the bullpen, Bove said.
‘‘We’ll see how he recovers and [do] another pen from there,’’ Bove said.
Bove said Schultz also is using the time to fix some things. He allowed 19 runs spanning 17⅓ innings in his last four starts before going on the IL.
‘‘We had this sample size at the major-league level with things that worked, with things that haven’t,’’ Bove said. ‘‘It’s a usage thing, No. 1. Specifically, with right-handed hitters, make sure that we’re throwing the right pitches. Working on a couple of the shapes, with his slider, adding a little depth to it. Those are the two big focuses.’’
Bove also said right-hander Shane Smith, who was the Sox’ Opening Day starter and is now on the IL at Triple-A Charlotte with a strained rotator cuff, resumed throwing last week.
Notes
The Sox put left-hander Tyler Gilbert on the family medical-emergency list and called up lefty Chris Murphy, keeping them with four left-handed relievers. The Sox put Murphy right to work, inserting him in the sixth inning Sunday. He walked three in 1⅓ innings but was bailed out by a double-play grounder and a pickoff that was scored as a caught-stealing.
• Infielder Jacob Gonzalez, the Sox’ first-round pick in 2023, became their 11th player to make his major-league debut this season. That’s tied for the second-most by a team before June since 1945, according to Elias. The Marlins had 12 before June in 1998.
ON DECK
SOX AT TWINS
Monday: David Sandlin (1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Joe Ryan (3-3, 2.94), 6:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Tuesday: Davis Martin (8-1, 2.00) vs. Connor Prielipp (1-3, 5.13), 6:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Wednesday: Erick Fedde (0-5, 5.40) vs. Taj Bradley (5-1, 3.21), 12:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.