RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Chicago Sun-Times — the article as it was filed.
The White Sox offense deservedly receives a lot of credit for the team’s surprising 2026 turnaround. Even playing .500 baseball since June 1, the Sox lead the American League in runs scored per game.
But with a lineup built around loose and long-levered athletes who slug fastballs, their production can be boom-or-bust in nature, as evidenced by Grant Holmes and three relievers holding the White Sox to one hit in Thursday afternoon’s 2-0 loss to the Braves.
First-year hitting coach and Glenview native Derek Shomon employs a style built around blunt feedback with an offense light on hitters older than 26, and heavy on high-maintenance and/or still developing swings.
“You want to establish those relationships, especially as a newly-hired hitting coach, as early in the offseason as possible, so you're not wasting time trying to figure out when you should say something,” Shomon said. “We are in the dog days. We are in a pennant race, and meaningful adjustments still need to be made, calibrations still need to be had. So you don't want to [bleeping] walk on eggshells and feel like the relationship is not there.”
After their first half exploits, getting Sox hitters back on track has some easier reference points, even if they’re delivered with tough love.
“Success leaves clues,” Shomon said. “When you've had success, you can refer back to those times and use that as a blueprint to get you back to feeling crispy and sexy.”
Brazobán struggling upon arrival
Recently acquired reliever Huascar Brazobán broke a streak of being scored upon in three-straight appearances on Thursday. But only because the runner he allowed to score went on starter Anthony Kay ’s tab, and the 93.9 mph exit velocity on Austin Riley ’s seventh inning RBI single was the softest of the three batted balls he allowed.
Three more years of team control was part of the appeal when Sox GM Chris Getz sent prospects Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin to the Mets for the 36-year-old Brazobán at the trade deadline, but immediate bullpen help was a bigger part.
Instead, the right-hander looks off his game.
“We’ve got to get him competitive in the zone,” said manager Will Venable . “He's learning a new environment, whatever it might be, we’ve just got to get him comfortable and on track. So we'll continue to work through that. He's going to be in big spots here coming up, he's one of our guys back there.”
Rotation updates
Venable plans to have Erick Fedde and Jose Urquidy take their next turns in the rotation, be it a traditional start or behind an opener, with the former throwing a bullpen Thursday ahead of likely pitching on Sunday against the Mets. But with the Sox still in a stretch of 16 consecutive games without an off day, unexpected needs could arise.
Davis Martin (right middle finger blister) should make a Triple-A rehab start soon, before being eligible to come off the injured list on Aug. 29
Drew Thorpe hasn’t pitched in the majors in two years due to injury, but has a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings across two Triple-A rehab starts. Venable referred to Thorpe as “a depth option.”
In honor of his niece Annabella, who is battling brain cancer, Kay threw six innings of two-run ball Thursday while donning cleats decorated by patients at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital.
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