White Sox' offense 'one knock short' in series loss against Angels
White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn picked a good time to get his first hit of the season.
Leading off in the ninth inning Sunday against Angels closer Kenley Jansen, Vaughn connected on a cutter in the heart of the zone for a double to left field. Catcher Matt Thaiss then drew a walk, putting runners on first and second with no outs.
Third baseman Miguel Vargas followed with a poor at-bat, swinging at the first pitch and popping up for the first out. Infielder Brooks Baldwin then grounded into a double play, ending the Sox’ 3-2 loss.
In all, the Sox went 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position in their season-opening series.
‘‘Still maybe just one knock short here to get us over the hump and get us the lead, but our pitching is keeping us in there, and we’re gonna have some chances here offensively,’’ manager Will Venable said.
After scoring eight runs in the season opener Thursday, the Sox’ offense dried up Saturday and Sunday, scoring a combined two runs. It’s not surprising the offense is struggling, considering the Sox scored the fewest runs in the majors last season and didn’t add any significant bats to the lineup.
The starting pitching, however, has been surprisingly good. It has yet to allow an earned run in 17 innings.
Mix and match
Venable said the first few weeks would be dedicated to getting everyone involved. There’s no set batting order yet, as was evident by designated hitter Nick Maton batting leadoff for the first time Sunday.
‘‘We’re transparent with these guys and told them that we’re going to do some different things with this lineup this first week,’’ Venable said.
Maton rewarded Venable’s confidence in him by turning on a 95 mph sinker in the heart of the zone for his first career leadoff home run.
‘‘Just trying to stack good things in a row,’’ Venable said before the game. ‘‘We like what he brings and his competitiveness and his ability to hit the fastball. We’re going to see a lot of fastballs in the zone, a lot of sinkers today. So we like that matchup for him leading us off.’’
Venable has kept his word about trying different things. On Opening Day, Vargas led off with Austin Slater in right and Michael A. Taylor in left. In Game 2, Thaiss was inserted as the catcher, and Baldwin played right field.
The Sox don’t have many position players accomplished enough to play every day, so fans should expect the lineup to look different from game to game.
Minor-league roundup
Catcher Kyle Teel went 3-for-5 with a homer, double and six RBI in Triple-A Charlotte’s victory Saturday. He added a hit and an RBI on Sunday.
Shortstop Colson Montgomery is struggling to start the season. He struck out four times Sunday and has one hit and nine strikeouts in his first 13 at-bats.
Montgomery’s proclivity for striking out is alarming. He struck out 164 times in 130 games at Charlotte last season.
Catching prospect Edgar Quero had two hits and scored two runs Sunday.