Andrew Vaughn picked a good time to get his first hit of the season.
Leading off for the Sox in the ninth inning, the first baseman connected on a cutter in the heart of the zone to left field for a double. Catcher Matt Thaiss promptly drew a walk, putting runners on first and second base with no outs.
Third baseman Miguel Vargas had a poor at-bat, swinging at the first pitch, resulting in a pop-up for the first out. On the next at-bat, infielder Brooks Baldwin grounded into a double play, ending the rally in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Angels.
The Sox were 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position in their series against the Angels.
“Still maybe just one knock short here to get us over the hump and get us the lead, but our pitching is keeping us in there and we’re gonna have some chances here offensively,” manager Will Venable said.
After exploding for eight runs on Opening Day, the Sox’ offense dried up over the following two games, scoring just two runs. It’s not surprising that the offense is struggling. The Sox were the lowest run-scoring team in the majors last season and didn’t add any significant bats to the lineup.
But the starting pitching has been surprising for this group, which has yet to allow an earned run over 17 innings pitched. The pitching could give the Sox a chance, but the bats have to start producing soon.
Mix and match
Venable said the first few weeks would be dedicated to getting everyone involved. There’s no set batting order yet, as is evident by the designated Nick Maton batting leadoff for the first time on Sunday.
“We’re transparent with these guys and told them that we’re going to do some different things with this lineup this first week,” Venable said.
Well, Maton rewarded Venable’s fate after he turned on a 95 mpg sinker in the heart of the zone for his first career leadoff homer in Sunday’s game.
“Just trying to stack good things in a row, we like what he brings and his competitiveness and his ability to hit the fastball – we’re going to see a lot of fastballs in the zone, a lot of sinkers today,” Venable said. “So we like that matchup for him leading us off.”
Venable has kept to his word. On Opening Day, Vargas led off with Austin Slater in right field and Michael A. Taylor in left field. In Game 2, Matt Thais was inserted as catcher, and Baldwin played right field.
The Sox have a dearth of everyday position players, so fans should expect the lineup to look different from game to game.
Minor-league roundup
Catcher Kyle Teel went 3-for-5 with a double, homer (2) and six RBI in Triple-A Charlotte’s win on Saturday. He added a hit and an RBI on Sunday.
Shortstop Colson Montgomery is struggling to start the season. On Sunday, the 54th-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com, struck out four times. Montgomery has struck out nine times over his first 13 at-bats with one hit.
Montgomery’s proclivity for striking out is alarming after he struck out 164 times in 130 games at Triple-A Charlotte last season.
Catching prospect Edgar Quero collected two hits and scored two runs on Sunday.