White Sox ready to embrace 'clean slate' after Opening Day victory
White Sox right-hander Sean Burke just had to get settled in on Opening Day on Thursday against the Angels.
Burke allowed a leadoff double to Taylor Ward in the first inning after leaving a four-seam fastball in the heart of the strike zone. After getting a groundout, Burke lost control of his fastball and hit Mike Trout, putting runners on first and third with one out.
But Burke rebounded by striking out Jorge Soler and former Sox shortstop Tim Anderson to quell the Angels’ rally. Burke said he had to tell himself not to overthrow because of how amped up he was from the crowd.
‘‘That’s definitely the most fun I’ve ever had pitching in front of these fans at home,’’ Burke said after the Sox’ 8-1 victory. ‘‘That first inning after I struck out Tim Anderson was the craziest high of emotions with the fans cheering.’’
Burke went on to pitch six scoreless innings in his first Opening Day start, allowing three hits, striking out three and walking none. He retired 14 consecutive batters from the second inning until he exited the game, and the victory put the Sox above .500 for the first time since the 2023 season opener.
‘‘This is a new season and a clean slate, and we’re excited to get off to a good start,’’ said Will Venable, who won his first game as the Sox’ manager. ‘‘These guys put in a lot of work in the offseason and obviously in spring training. And so for that to end in a win to start the season means a lot for us.’’
It’s too early, of course, to make any bold proclamations about the Sox, but the way they performed was a marked improvement from their record-setting 121 losses of last season.
‘‘It’s a new team,’’ catcher Korey Lee said. ‘‘A new manager. Fans were unbelievable today. It felt like a new year. That’s kind of the moral of the story here. Flip the page. It’s [the] 2025 Sox, and now we are ready to rock.’’
Each phase of the team showed up and played its part. Defensively, the Sox played a clean game, making routine plays and committing no errors. Offensively, they scored eight runs. And the bullpen, particularly converted starter Mike Clevinger, shut things down.
With the Sox leading 3-0, reliever Jordan Leasure entered in the eighth. After getting a groundout, allowing a walk and inducing a flyout, Leasure allowed a single to Nolan Schanuel to put runners on first and third. That brought in Clevinger, who allowed a walk to Trout to load the bases before striking out Soler to end the inning.
‘‘We talked about those situations and who we want out there for that,’’ Venable said. ‘‘And Mike’s the guy, right? He handles those situations well. The test came early for him. That was a big moment to see him get out of it, which was nice to see.’’
It was rare to see all three phases work at the same time for the Sox last season. But that’s in the past now.
‘‘I think everyone has a chip on their shoulder from last year,’’ Burke said. ‘‘We know what kind of team we can be, and I think just trying to go out every single day and just enjoy the game and play to the best of our abilities is what our motto is going to be going forward.’’