White Sox shut out for ninth time, fall to 1-14 on road in loss to Cardinals

ST. LOUIS – Tommy Pham was off and running in his first week with the White Sox, injecting some sorely needed pizzazz into a lineup that has been in the doldrums all season long.

That Pham is able to make an impact is saying something, considering he isn’t happy with his selectivity at the plate in his first six games since signing a minor-league deal as a free agent.

“From the plate discipline aspect,” Pham, 36 said. “Let’s be real, these guys are 30 games in. I’m [seven]. I have to get used to seeing stuff again.”

Nonetheless, Pham was batting .375/.375/.583 with a homer and two doubles in 24 plate appearances before going 0-for-3 in the Sox’ 3-0 loss to the Cardinals and right-hander Sonny Gray Friday, their ninth shutout of the season.

“Sometimes you’d rather be lucky than good,” Pham said. “Really haven’t barreled a ball 110+ mph yet so I’m still waiting for that.”

The Sox (6-26), who have been neither lucky or good, continued to be historically bad. They have been especially bad on the road, where their record fell to 1-14.

That mark ties a modern era record for the worst road start, shared by nine teams, most recently the 2005 Astros and Rockies. Whether those Astros finding their way to a World Series loss to the Sox that year is consolation is for you to decide.

These Sox, who have lost nine in a row on the road and four in a row overall, aren’t going anywhere. Their run differential dipped to a major league worst minus-87, dragged down in large part by nine shutouts.

Need more numbers in futility? They’ve been shutout in the first game of a series seven times, and held to four or fewer hits 12 times.

“Sonny was tough,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “We we gotta find ways to do something but this guy has been doing it for a long time and he was tough. He didn’t make too many mistakes.”

Pham’s presence helped the Sox averaged 5.5 runs and raised their average from .192 to .212 while hitting .288/317/.458. Andrew Benintendi (.333 with three homers in five of those games) and Andrew Vaughn batting .308 in his last six also helped.

But Gray (0.89 ERA) buzzsawed whatever momentum the Sox had going, pitching seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. The Sox had four baserunners against Gray – Vaughn’s double in the second, Nicky Lopez’ two-out single in the third, Pham’s first walk in the third and Martin Maldonado’s single in the fifth.

“He kept us on our heels, kind of in-between,” Sox shortstop Paul DeJong said.

Veteran right-hander Brad Keller made his first start, allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings. Willson Contreras doubled in the first, Paul Goldschmidt walked and Nolan Arenado drove them in with a double.

Contreras walked and scored on Arenado’s second double in the fifth, which knocked Keller out of the game.

Keller struck out five and gave up five hits.

Left-hander Jared Shuster gave the bullpen a lift, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Keller.

Besides that, there was nothing good about this loss, unless homecomings for former Cardinals DeJong, John Brebbia and Pham, who played the first five seasons of his career from 2014-18, counts for something.

“Great fans, baseball fans,” Pham said. “Tough place to hit, big gaps. But St. Louis will always have a special place in my heart.”

Every place, it seems, is a tough place to hit for the Sox. Their best chance to ding Gray came when Pham walked in the third, putting two runners on for Eloy Jimenez with two outs.

“Eloy hit a line drive to the third baseman,” Grifol said, “and that’s the only action we had on the offensive side.”