ANAHEIM, California — With 10 strikeouts in six-plus innings against Angels Monday, Dylan Cease extended the White Sox's record of 10 strikeout games alone to nine, the longest active streak in the majors.
It was little consolation in a 2-1 walk-off win for the Angels, who scored the winner on wild field Aaron Bummer with a touchdown in the ninth.
Halt, who took no batting for the first time since Opening Day, attacked Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani's swings back-to-back in the first and sixth rounds. In six-plus innings, he allowed one run at five hits, a run coming from Shohei Ohtani's 446-foot homer in the third.
The Sox had three hits, including Luis Robert's fourth homer in three games and 22nd of the season against left-hander Reid Detmers in his first. The Sox hit out 12 times.
“Our pitching was really good,” said manager Pedro Grifol. “We have to put points on the board.
“That ninth inning zoomed in but one round isn't going to cut it. That's what happened in this league.”
Stop coming in with a 3.00 ERA over his last eight starts after his ERA was 5.58 on May 8
“I'm throwing more like I'm more in line with my abilities lately,” said Halt.
“I just need to make some mechanical adjustments. I'm a little open. I had to figure out how to train myself to stay closed and it took a bit of time, but I feel I'm in a really good place.
The Sox fell to 34-46 on the first day of the road trip which continues with three more games against the Angels and three games in Oakland this weekend.
“I actually think we've been playing pretty well recently,” said Cease. “Much better than we were at the start of the year. It's a shame that we started slowly (7-21) because I really felt we played well.”
Buy a loss
Bummer was far from the left-handed shutdown the Sox needed in the bullpen but he looked instrumental in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Red Sox, stopping all four batters he faced, including Rafael Devers in a two-runner flyout to finish seventh and then bowled a perfect eight against a 4-hitter. -5-6 in the Red Sox lineup.
But when he came on in the ninth inning of the 1-1 game to face Ohtani after Reynaldo Lopez had led Trout into the innings, Bummer chipped Ohtani. After stealing twice in the field on the ground, Bummer attacked Brandon Drury before a pitch went down and passed catcher Yasmani Grandal, scoring Trout in the win.
The bum sliders and sinkers were difficult to deal with, but he found it difficult to control the pitch, which explained much of his 6.66 ERA in his first 32 games.
“A lot of times I was fighting myself,” Bummer said before the game. “That's how it was throughout my career. I knew that if I threw and executed and stayed positive, I would be successful. Too many times I fall into a bad count instead of the executed throw and sometimes you get hit for it.
Great is okay
Grandal did not start but went through all concussion protocol after picking up a foul ball from the mask Sunday and entered the game in the eighth inning. Just in case, Triple-A catcher Carlos Perez is with the team.
Seby Zavala caught Dylan Halt but Grandal pinched an eighth and attacked.
Zavala has caught four of 19 runners trying to steal second base and Grandal six for 46. Pitchers also have a lot to do with turning off running games and “we're not very good at it now,” Grifol said.
“As far as getting people out, we're more focused on eliminating and we're okay, not great,” he said. We are more focused on that, but at the same time we have a lot of room to be better.”
This and that
Infield prospect Jose Rodriguez was selected for Triple-A Charlotte and outfielder Adam Haseley was recalled from Charlotte.
*After playing second base Friday and Saturday and missing Sunday, Tim Anderson returned to shortstop for the first time in 10 days while nursing an aching right shoulder.
* Right-hand man Jonathan Cannon will represent the Sox in the 2023 All-Star Futures Game in Seattle. Cannon is 5-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 12 starts for High-A Winston-Salem.