The Chicago White Sox, fresh off the worst season in modern Major League Baseball history, fell just short of earning a new, positive entry into the record books on Tuesday. Shane Smith’s start against the Minnesota Twins saw him notch 5 ⅔ innings of two-run ball against the Minnesota Twins in his big-league debut.
Alas, those runs snapped the White Sox’s streak of 28 ⅔ consecutive innings from starting pitchers without surrendering an earned run. (They had given up two unearned runs along the way.)
As such, the White Sox will remain one of four teams since MLB’s integration to begin the season with four five-plus inning starts without any earned runs. The other teams to accomplish the feat were the 2019 Toronto Blue Jays, 2013 San Francisco Giants, and 1976 Milwaukee Brewers, according to Chicago Sports Network.
It’s worth noting that such a streak to begin the season does not necessarily mean that a team is headed for glory: the Blue Jays and Brewers both failed to top 70 wins, while the Giants finished their campaign at 76 wins.
Smith, 24, was the No. 1 pick in last winter’s Rule 5 Draft by way of the Brewers. On Tuesday, he struck out three batters, walked four, and allowed two hits on 73 pitches. Smith averaged 94.9 mph on his four-seam fastball and generated 11 swinging strikes on the night, including four on his heater and three on his changeup. Smith left two runners on base when he was removed from the game by manager Will Venable in favor of reliever Penn Murfee.
Unfortunately, that decision backfired on Venable. Murfee would allow both of those inherited runners to score, and would then give up three earned runs of his own without recording a single out before being lifted for Fraser Ellard. The White Sox went from leading 3-0 to trailing 5-3.
The White Sox entered Tuesday’s contest with a 2-2 record on the year. Last season, when they dropped 121 games, they did not record their second win until their 11th contest.
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