Sept. 14 – A historically bad season for the Chicago White Sox is coming to an end, but interim head coach Grady Sizemore is still excited about every game.
Sizemore hopes the excitement translates into a much-needed win when the White Sox (33-115) resume a three-game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.
Chicago lost a franchise-record 16th consecutive home game on Friday when the Athletics (65-83) beat the White Sox 2-0 with six hits.
The White Sox have lost 18 of their last 20 games and must finish 10-4 or better to avoid tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a season in modern baseball history (120 games).
On August 8, Sizemore replaced Pedro Giffri. Chicago’s record under Sizemore was 5 wins and 26 losses.
“Even though we struggled and didn’t win, I enjoyed it,” Sizemore said. “I got a chance to compete at the major league level every night. That’s what you want to do. We’re all professionals here, we want to go out and win, compete and show what we have.”
The White Sox are aiming for their first home win since Aug. 12 against Oakland, which has won three of its last four games.
Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler extended his career-best hit streak to 21 games with a single in the fifth inning on Friday. Butler batted .368 (32 of 87) with 17 runs, eight home runs and 14 RBIs.
Max Schumann of Oakland said Butler brings a positive attitude to everything he does.
“You really see that he’s the same guy when he’s doing well on the field,” Shuman told the San Francisco Chronicle. “He wants to find a way to enjoy the success he’s having right now.”
Saturday’s game will feature a pair of right-handed starting pitchers, Chicago’s Chris Friesen (2-14, 5.26 ERA) against Oakland’s JT Ginn (0-1, 4.58).
Friesen allowed two runs in six innings against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, making his 22nd consecutive start without a win. It is the longest streak in franchise history.
“Come in every day and try to get better every week,” Friesen said. “Just stick to your routine and focus on getting ready for every start. Just stick to the routine, work hard and don’t give up. Just compete. That’s all you can do.”
Friesen is 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA in nine career games (six starts) against Oakland.
Jean is looking for his first career win after giving up a total of 10 runs in 19 2/3 innings in his first five major league appearances. Last Sunday, in his third career start, he allowed three runs in five innings in a 9-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
“I definitely didn’t play my best, but I made some competitive pitches when I needed to and left some pitches in my injured areas,” Ginn said. “Sometimes you’ll have days like that and you compete hard and stay in the game as long as you can.”
Ginn’s strikeout-to-walk ratio through 11 innings over his past two starts is 12-to-2.
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