White Sox Opening Day starter Shane Smith struggles in final spring start
TEMPE, Ariz. — Before Shane Smith’s final spring training start, White Sox manager Will Venable wanted his Opening Day starter to get back to his strike-throwing ways.
“He’s got such good stuff, and [I] want to see it play in the zone,” Venable said. “That’s been something he’s gone in and out of stretches this camp doing.”
Smith didn’t heed his skipper’s advice against the Angels. He hit the first two batters he faced and walked the third to load the bases. He struck out former Sox hitter Yoan Moncada for his first out but allowed an RBI single on a 2-1 count before Garrett Schoenle replaced him.
Throwing 24 pitches (11 for strikes) isn’t a recipe for success for Smith. Early on, he didn’t have the fastball command — which he and the staff wanted to improve this spring—and couldn't find the zone. Schoenle didn’t fare much better, allowing a two-run single before inducing an inning-ending double play.
“I got as much practice of bouncing back as I could this spring,” Smith said after allowing four runs on two hits with three walks in Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Angels.
This spring hasn’t been as seamless as Smith would have liked; he posted a 10.13 ERA over four starts. He’s not one who only takes away positives from spring training and sweeps the negatives under the rug. As the Opening Day starter, he knows he has the responsibility to set the tone for the season.
“Everybody wanted to take strides [in spring training], so that when we start the year, we get off to a better start than last year,” Smith said.
Smith said that he was trying to aim the ball in the first, which led to the early misfires. After reentering the game in the second inning, he found his stride. He recorded three consecutive strikeouts after a fielding error and a walk put runners on first and second base.
He learned last year that you can’t let outings snowball and get out of hand. For a Sox rotation that is unproven, Smith battling through subpar starts to give the team a chance to win will go a long way.
“You can turn [poor starts] into decent days,” Smith said. “You’re going to have bad days, and you’re going to have good days. Finishing what you started is really all that matters.”
Smith surprised team officials with his upper-90s fastball and a plus changeup last spring training. He parlayed that success into an All-Star rookie season, but this spring training has proved challenging for Smith. He said he’s experienced a lot more growth than he expected this season.
“The game reminds you of how hard it can be, but also how simple it can be," Smith said. “You’re in the zone, you throw strikes and mix speeds, it’s a lot easier game. Just getting back into the flow of things and realizing you’re going to toe the slab every five days, no matter what happens, can be daunting, but I think it’s encouraging.”
Smith attributed some of his struggles to wanting to come into camp with a pristine arsenal and said his growth was more mental than physical.
“After last year, I wanted to come in here and really be refined," Smith said. "And I think I maybe had a misconstrued idea of what that would look like.”
The team has high hopes this season, but it can’t achieve its goals without the rotation holding up its end of the bargain, and that starts with Smith rounding into form and resembling the All-Star pitcher he was last season.