Right-hander Sean Burke knew he had made a mistake. He left a slider in the heart of the zone to Twins star Byron Buxton.
Buxton got all of the pitch for his first homer of the year.
Then in the fourth inning, after a single and a hit by pitch, Burke allowed a three-run homer to left fielder Harrison Bader. It was still early, but with the White Sox’ quiet offense, the game was all but over.
“Just a couple of pitches got away from him,” manager Will Venable said. “He commanded the fastball well. I thought he did a good job with the curveball. Just a couple of pitches he wasn’t able to execute.”
With the 6-1 loss to the Twins after a three-hour, 20-minute rain delay, the Sox dropped their second consecutive series to open the season.
Burke said he needs to make sure he’s throwing into good spots, whether he’s up in the count or not.
“Just being better about getting it to good spots within the zone and not just throwing it for a strike but, like, making it a quality pitch, even that lower left quadrant,” Burke said of the two sliders.
Burke had control issues all day, resulting in his worst outing since September of last season. He went 4⅓ innings and allowed six runs and seven hits. He had only one strikeout.
“The command of [the slider] was not the greatest,” Burke said. “The two they hit were just middle-middle sliders that get hit pretty often when you throw them in those spots.
“Going back to halfway through last year, my biggest thing was [that] I want to be able to beat guys in the zone. I don’t want to beat myself. I don’t want to put guys on base.”
Burke got hit in the back of his right knee on a 108.4 mph line drive hit by Matt Wallner in the second inning. He anticipated being sore but wasn’t too concerned.
The Sox’ offense was just as much a culprit in the loss as Burke. The Sox had six hits and only threatened to score in the fifth inning when they had runners on first and second. Twins starter Pablo Lopez faced the minimum batters three times. He cruised through seven innings of one-run baseball on 98 pitches. He stuck out five and limited the Sox to four hits. Utility infielder Brooks Baldwin’s solo homer in the seventh inning averted the shutout.
“Just really crisp,” Venable said of Lopez’s outing. “Fastball was really good. We know he’s got a good changeup and the slider for the righties. Just [a] really good fastball this game.”
The Sox are 2-4, like the rest of the American League Central. It’s not a vast improvement from last year, but it’s an improvement nonetheless. They had real opportunities to win two series but couldn’t get over the hump in the last game. Adjustments are in order, but the Sox aren’t discouraged by their play at the start of the season.
“Today we ran into a good pitcher on their end,” Burke said. “Everyone has been swinging the bat well and having good at-bats even when we’re making outs. I think the first two series are encouraging.”