Game one of 162 is officially in the books. Through four innings it looked like the White Sox were going to make a statement to start the 2022 campaign. The White Sox put up three early runs and Lucas Giolito was cruising, tossing four scoreless innings to go along with six strikeouts.
Then he left the game with abdominal tightness. While his removal looks to be a precautionary measure it was still troubling to see. The wheels fell off soon after his absence. A 3-0 lead turned into a 3-3 tie.
Andrew Vaughn tried to restore order with a go-ahead solo home run in the ninth inning. But Liam Hendriks coughed up the lead in the bottom half of the inning and the White Sox dropped an entertaining affair to the Tigers 5-4. Here are five early observations from game one.
Pollock Is RF Solution White Sox Have Been Looking For
It looks like the White Sox have finally found a right fielder in AJ Pollock. In his White Sox debut, he had three hits an RBI and a run scored. His first hit came in the top of the second inning. With two outs he reached out and sliced an RBI single to the opposite field. The 34-year old then showed off his wheels scoring from first base on a double off the bat of Luis Robert. However, Pollock wasn't done. He led off the fifth inning with a sharply hit double to center field and singled to left field in the seventh for his final hit of the day. It was a true showcase of how good of a hitter Pollock is. He was able to use the entire field and take what pitchers gave him. Opening Day marked just the second start he has ever made in right field and just his eighth appearance overall. Pollock is a center fielder by trade but showed that he is a good outfielder regardless of where he plays recording two putouts. The only blip on the radar happened to be the biggest play of the day when Javier Báez hit a deep game-ending deep fly ball. In real-time, it looked like Pollock had made an incredible juggling catch in the warning track. Upon replay review, it was revealed the ball had grazed the wall before it touched his glove. Could Pollock have timed his jump better to catch it? Probably. But that moment should not overshadow what was an otherwise impressive White Sox debut.Bullpen Still Has Issues
Lucas Giolito leaving the game early left the White Sox bullpen responsible for the final 15 outs of the game. That is a lot of ground to cover but a 3-0 lead should have been more than enough cushion. It wasn't all bad. Bennett Sousa looked sharp in his major league debut. Sousa was able to throw a perfect inning and showed the ability to battle back when falling behind in the count. What stood out most was his confidence to throw his slider when he fell behind 2-0 in the count to Akil Baddoo. Kendall Graveman also impressed in his White Sox debut. He was able to tot work his way out of a jam that Kyle Crick created in the sixth inning by inducing an inning-ending double play. He then returned for the seventh inning and threw a scoreless frame. But for the second straight Opening Day, Aaron Bummer struggled to find the strike zone. He gave up two hits, a walk, and a run in the eighth inning. Liam Hendriks was brought in to put out the fire but he struggled with command as well. Hendriks hit a batter, allowed four hits, a home run, and blew the save. Blowing a lead is one thing but when your two premiere bullpen arms are responsible it makes it a tougher pill to swallow.White Sox Still Can't Hit Right Handers
The White Sox are notorious for feasting off of left-handed pitching. Today was no different. The White Sox offense put up three early runs off Tigers starter Eduardo Rodrigez and knocked him out of the game after four innings. The Tigers are not known for having a good bullpen so the time was right for them to pounce. What followed was a parade of right-handers from the Tigers. Drew Hutchison, who has a career 4.95 ERA shut down the White Sox for two innings. Right-hander Alex Lange was next tossing another scoreless frame. AJ Hitch then brought in Jacob Barnes who threw a perfect 1-2-3 inning. It White Sox wasn't able to able to score again until the ninth inning when Andrew Vaughn ripped a home run to left field off of Gregory Soto. Soto is, you guessed it, left-handed. It's still early but if the White Sox want to go far this season they need to buck the stigma that they can only hit lefties.Comments
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