White Sox’ Michael Soroka was pleased with his command in Saturday’s game against the Padres
Lindsey Wasson/AP Photos
PEORIA, Ariz — Right-hander Michael Soroka delivered another impressive start on Saturday against the Padres. He said he was pleased with his stuff, though it took 20 pitches for him to find his groove.
“The thing we made sure of doing was to go back to the changeup a couple of times in the third inning,” Soroka said postgame. I was happy with how the one to [Padres hitter Jake] Cronenworth was thrown. We sequenced a couple of hitters extremely well. In the second and third innings, it was kind of what we wanted to do.”
The veteran right-hander pitched three innings, striking out five and allowing two hits and one run in his second Cactus League start at Peoria Sports Complex.
“In the first inning, I was just a little excited again, not letting my lower half take me all the way down before I decided it was time to get on it,” Soroka said. “You could see that with the shape of everything; everything was kind of flat, backing up.”
Sheets’ hitting improvements
2023 was a season to forget for first baseman/right fielder Gavin Sheets. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage were all career lows. The 27-year-old entered the offseason knowing he had to make changes.
“I’ve been staying aggressive [at the plate] staying offensive, so that was something I worked on this offseason,” Sheets told the Sun-Times. “I got away from that last year.”
Sheets is batting .286/.375/.571. With the added caveat that it’s just spring training, Sheets said it’s still encouraging to see his offseason chances transfer over. He’s taken a less-is-more approach at the plate.
“Just getting a swing I feel confident in, where when I get in the box and I have a confident swing, it’s me vs. the pitcher,” Sheets said. “Last year, I got too mechanical and was worrying too much about hand placement and the mechanics of the swing, and now it’s more about going out and competing.”
Crochet’s next steps
Garrett Crochet has been building towards becoming a starter this season after being a reliever throughout his three-year career. Crochet is trying to build into a rhythm, but acknowledged that he has to lower his pitch count to make it through multiple innings.
“Getting through three [innings], that’s probably the next step,” Crochet said of what the next progression is. “Obviously pitch count will be a big factor in that. Today, I think I threw 55 pitches in 2.1 innings. I just can’t have that happen anymore. I got to kind of hone in on my stuff and be more efficient.”
Soroka said he’s confident Crochet can continue progressing towards becoming a starter because of his athleticism.
Padres 1, White Sox 1
The Sox pitching staff continued to have a strong spring, allowing one run and six hits to the Padres. The offense racked up 11 hits but couldn’t turn those into runs. The Sox (4-11-1) struggled to bring runners home. The Sox had a bases-loaded situation at the top of the fifth but failed to turn it into runs.
• Designated hitter Eloy Jimenez knocked in a run at the top of the fifth inning, continuing his torrid spring.
• Third baseman Yoan Moncada had a three-hit day.
• On Deck: Sox at Giants, 2:10 p.m. Sunday, Scottsdale, Chris Flexen vs. Spencer Howard.