Odriasmer Despaigne had a decent performance in his White Sox debut and first major league appearance of the season. His control was marginal, as he threw only 56 of his 97 pitches (58%) for strikes, but he only walked two in six innings, and just one of those crossed the plate.
The worst part of his night was a fifth-inning fastball on the inner half that Trea Turner caught up to and launched 425 feet to left. Fortunately, that was only a solo shot, and Despaigne still managed a quality start. His line: six innings, three runs (all earned), seven hits, two walks, and two strikeouts.
The Nationals got on the board in the second, when White Sox killer catcher Kurt Suzuki drove in Howie Kendrick with a sacrifice fly. This was the first run for either side. Washington doubled its lead in the third, when m̶o̶r̶t̶g̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶y̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶L̶u̶c̶a̶s̶ ̶G̶i̶o̶l̶i̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶r̶a̶d̶e̶ ̶p̶i̶e̶c̶e̶ outfielder Adam Eaton singled home Turner. Speaking of Turner, that long home run in the fifth put the Nationals up 3-0.
It was a tough night for the offense, as Despaigne’s quality start was not nearly enough to pull out the victory. Leury García finally put the White Sox on the board with a solo home run in the sixth.
Leury takes one out to straight-away center for his third home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/N46MoegcBD
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 11, 2019
García’s home run was only the White Sox’s second hit of the game at that point, and it pulled the South Siders back within two.
Up to that point, the only other White Sox hit was a single by James McCann, who added another single later. He was the only White Sox player to have a multi-hit game.
Reliever José Ruiz had a rough outing, as he allowed the Nationals to push their lead back to three. In two-thirds of an inning, Ruiz walked two and allowed a hit that led to Washington’s fourth run. That hit was an RBI double by Turner, who fell short of the cycle in the weirdest way possible — failing to single.
The Nationals put this one out of reach in the eighth. They went up 5-1 on a double down the left field line by Brian Dozier. Washington would add another insurance run that inning on a two-out single by Víctor Robles. And the Nationals turned this one into a massacre in the ninth, when they put up a crooked six to take a 12-1 lead. What new, a Suzuki grand slam capped off this huge inning.
In addition to the loss, there was bad news on the injury front.
Yoán Moncada left tonight’s game with upper back tightness. He is day-to-day.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 11, 2019
Moncada on the back spasms: "It just started my first at-bat. It wasn’t something really serious but it was progressing. My last at-bat, I felt more discomfort."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 11, 2019
Let’s hope the injury is not a serious one — Moncada’s postgame remarks seem to indicate his back will be a day-to-day issue. Don’t be surprised if Ricky Renteria pulls him from tomorrow’s lineup, to give him that full two days of rest in advance of Thursday’s series opener vs. the New York Yankees.
The White Sox fell to 31-34 on the season, and the Nationals improved to 31-35. Tomorrow will be the last matchup against the Nationals this season, and the White Sox will look to avoid a 4-0 season series sweep. That game will start at 7:10 CST. Manny Bañuelos is the White Sox’s probable starter, and he is expected to face lefty Patrick Corbin. Jump back, Danks for Nothin is on the coverage, and the game will be seen on NBC Sports Chicago, and audible on WGN 720.