The White Sox signed Seranthony Dominguez to be their closer. But they don’t always use him that way.
In fact, until Sunday, he hadn’t pitched in the ninth inning since May 29, and he hadn’t recorded a save since May 25. That’s a span of seven outings.
What the Sox are doing more often is seeking the best matchups, whenever they happen to come late in games. A perfect example came in their 2-1 victory over the Braves on Wednesday, in which Dominguez pitched the eighth and Bryan Hudson the ninth for the save.
That’s because three of the Braves’ top four hitters were lefties and four of their bottom five were righties. When manager Will Venable and his staff prepared their game plan, they decided the right-handed Dominguez would face the bottom of the lineup and the left-handed Hudson would face the top – no matter what inning either occurred.
“If it had happened that in the eighth inning we were at the top, it was going to be Huddy, and the ninth inning would’ve been Ser,” Venable said.
It didn’t, and Hudson earned his third save of the season. This is how Venable and pitching coach Zach Bove are using the bullpen, and it’s hard to argue with the results. That’s one reason why you won’t hear Dominguez complaining.
“I’m just here for the team, trying to be one of the best teammates,” said Dominguez, who earned his 12th save Sunday in a 6-4 victory over the Dodgers. “Whatever they’re doing, it’s working. We got first place, and we’re playing good baseball. At the end of the day, I’m here to pitch when they call my name.”
“We’ve had a lot of conversations with Seranthony and the rest of the bullpen guys that regardless of the roles or the labels that they might have, we’re going to do what we have to do to get through a game,” said Venable, who has seven pitchers with at least one save, tied for the fourth-most in the majors.
“What is great about Ser and the rest of the guys is that, while of course Ser wants to close games, and he will continue to close games, he’s understanding that for us to find our path to winning, it might be best for him and for other relievers and for our club to pitch in the eighth.”
No one on the Sox’ pitching staff has displayed more versatility this season than lefty Sean Newcomb, who has entered games between the second and ninth innings, often throwing multiple innings. On Sunday, he was the second opener behind Hudson — who, along with Grant Taylor, have opened and closed games — throwing 2 ⅓ scoreless innings.
“It’s what I signed here to do,” Newcomb said, “knowing that it would be more leverage and a little bit more length, depending on what the night called for. There’s a ton of value in coming in tied, one- or two-run game, and holding it there.”
Newcomb has done that more often than not, allowing only two earned runs in his last 26 innings. Taylor had been on a similar run — generally pitching between the sixth and the ninth — allowing two earned runs in his previous 23 ⅓ innings before giving up two runs in two innings Sunday. Still, his ERA is only 2.21.
“It’s not only the best matchup, it’s the buy-in from the players, whatever’s going to help the team win,” Bove said. “It’s easy to say that, but to then do that and show that, it’s been awesome.”
Saving the day
The White Sox have seven pitchers with at least one save, the fourth-most in the majors. The Twins lead with 11.
Seranthony Dominguez 12
Bryan Hudson 3
Grant Taylor 2
Tyler Davis 1
Jordan Hicks 1
Chris Murphy 1
Sean Newcomb 1
On deck
SOX AT YANKEES
Tuesday: Davis Martin (9-2, 2.41 ERA) vs. Gerrit Cole (1-1, 2.45), 6:05 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Wednesday: Anthony Kay (6-1, 4.34) vs. Carlos Rodon (2-2, 3.19), 6:05 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Thursday: Sean Burke (3-4, 4.15) vs. Ryan Weathers (2-5, 4.36), 6:05 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.