Astros romp, 10-0

Well, the Chicago White Sox weren’t no-hit by Justin Verlander on Friday night.

There wasn’t much else good to say about another fairly piteous effort on the South Side, as the Houston Astros stormed to a 10-0 win in the series opener.

Verlander threw six innings and gave up just two hits while piling up five Ks. A game score of 71 in just six innings ain’t bad.

Tim Anderson is the closest the White Sox had to a hero tonight, canceling the postgame show with a one-out single in the fifth.

Surely James Shields will be lauded in the clubhouse as heroic for coming back on one day of rest after losing Wednesday’s endless series finale with his “closer” effort in Oakland, but the truth is, he just wasn’t very good on Friday. It’s pretty hard to make 5 ¹⁄₃ innings, seven earned and a 31 game score smell good, no matter how much perfume it’s doused in.

Trayce Thompson, acquired yesterday in what was essentially a trade for Tyler Saladino, made his White Sox re-debut in the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitting for Avisail García and fouling out to third baseman Alex Bregman.

Also notable was Carson Fulmer, taking his turn in an innovative let’s-use-our-starters-to-finish-games strategy. Fulmer struck out three in 1 ¹⁄₃ innings, giving up three hits, including a solo homer in the ninth to Carlos Correa (Correa’s second of the game). In the turn-a-frown-upside-down category, Fulmer stranded runners on second and third with a punchout of Evan Gattis to end the ninth.

But I mean, really, this game sucked. The White Sox fall to 4-12, losers of 12 of their last 14.

At least tomorrow night, fans will be treated to fireworks as a reward for their misery.

UPDATE 1

Keeping eyes on two or three games at once means you miss stuff. While partially missing the night’s main event (that would be Astros at White Sox! although “main” and “event” are subject to interpretation) in Friday’s case was probably good for the blood pressure and/or soul, one big swing-and-miss.

As referenced in comments, Danny Farquhar fainted in the dugout. Updates to come, surely, but for now, here’s where he’s at:

UPDATE 1a

From the White Sox, Saturday afternoon:

Tests have revealed that Chicago White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar suffered a brain hemorrhage during the sixth inning of last night’s game, and additional overnight testing at RUSH University Medical Center revealed that a ruptured aneurysm caused the brain bleed. Currently stable but in critical condition in the neurosurgical ICU unit at RUSH, Farquhar continues to receive treatment and close monitoring by Dr. Demetrius Lopez and the neurosurgical team. The White Sox will provide additional updates on Farquhar’s health over the coming days as appropriate, but the club also asks that you respect the privacy of the Farquhar family at this time. Thank you.

The team has recalled reliever Gregory Infante from Charlotte to replace Farquhar.

UPDATE 2

I’m just gonna leave this here. For the record, I am 100% behind Pavlidis and everything he has to say about Verlander’s take.