White Sox put together all-around team effort in 4th straight win

CHICAGO -- Four-game winning streaks aren’t exactly reason for huge celebration over the course of a 162-game baseball season.

But when starting the campaign with 22 losses in 25 games as the 2024 White Sox did, it’s certainly a step above gratifying. That successful locale is where the White Sox currently reside after a 3-1 victory over the Guardians before a raucous crowd of 26,152 Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, raising their ledger to 9-6 over their last 15 games and 6-2 over their last eight.

“Think about it: We went through probably the worst 25 games in White Sox history. And they were games that we very easily could have won at least a handful of those games,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “That hurt. They were heartbreakers. But these guys never stopped working, never stopped fighting.”

“They’re having a lot of fun,” said White Sox starter Mike Clevinger of the team. “I said this the other day: It’s a really cohesive group here. It feels a lot more like a family and less like a team, if that makes sense.”

Here’s a look at a few key contributors from a third straight victory over the Guardians for the first time since 2019, with the White Sox going for a four-game sweep on Sunday.

Lopez gets No. 1
Second baseman Nicky Lopez needed 33 games to produce his first RBI with the White Sox. His second-inning double scored Paul DeJong, who had singled, and Lopez then scored on Martín Maldonado’s single through a drawn-in infield.

"That's comical,” said a smiling Lopez of his RBI drought. “It's good. Obviously, you guys know the first month and a half has been tough for all of us, but we've all been through it together and you can see that we're enjoying it right now and we're reaping the benefits.”

The game wasn’t totally pain-free for Lopez, who had a foul ball ricochet squarely off his chin during a fourth-inning at-bat.

“It was one of those like, 'What just happened?'” said Lopez, who stayed in the game. “I fouled the ball off my chin and then the helmet hit me in the nose, but we're good. Good thing I have a wife."

What a relief
Mike Clevinger is operating without a Spring Training workup, missing out as he waited to eventually sign with the White Sox on April 4. Even with his preparatory work done in Arizona and at Triple-A Charlotte, the right-hander continues to build up mound endurance and strength.

He put the White Sox in a position to win Saturday, allowing one run over 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and no walks. That one run, a Josh Naylor homer, is the only one given up by the White Sox starters during this series.

“That’s been a challenge, but I try not to think about it too much,” Clevinger said. “You know you're going to get a pitch count, you're still kind of building.”

The relief trio of Tim Hill (1 1/3 innings), Jared Shuster (two innings) and John Brebbia (one inning and his first save of the season) held the Guardians hitless over the final 4 1/3 innings. Michael Kopech is the White Sox closer, but after working Wednesday and Thursday, Grifol made him unavailable on Saturday.

“[Kopech's a] big time competitor, so he’s, ‘Why? Why?’” Grifol said. “At the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for him and make sure he stays healthy and strong. This guy was starting last year and we just moved him to the 'pen six weeks ago.

“His workload has been up a little bit. His answer was classic: 'I’m going to prepare for this game like if I’m pitching in the ninth and if you happen to change your mind, I’ll be ready.’ I said, ‘OK, perfect.' I didn’t change my mind. I’m not going to do that.”

What's next?
The White Sox sit 12 games out of first place in the American League Central, but they are playing decidedly better baseball. It’s the brand of baseball they thought was in them from the season’s outset.

“We keep coming to the ballpark with the mentality of wanting to do better and grinding it out and everyone's getting their work in,” Lopez said. “If you keep doing that, it's going to eventually show.

“Early on, it was like, 'When is it going to show? We're putting in the work, when is it going to turn our way for once?' Now, it's finally flipping. We're doing the right things, we're doing the little things right.”