Great starting pitching stretches not enough for the White Sox and Reds early this season

The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox both got brilliant stretches from their starting rotations — and largely wasted them.

Chicago's starters did not allow an earned run through the first four games of the season, but the White Sox split those games and then lost five in a row once their rotation came back to earth. The Reds lost three straight games 1-0 from Tuesday through Thursday. The only other team in the live ball era to lose 1-0 in three straight games was the 1960 Philadelphia Phillies.

That Philadelphia team finished 36 games under .500, in large part because it batted .239 on the season. Those 1-0 defeats were a better reflection of the Phillies’ batting than their pitching.

The Reds will hope for the opposite. Right-hander Hunter Greene began living up to his potential last year and has allowed three runs over his first two starts of 2025. Brady Singer, acquired from Kansas City in the offseason, threw seven one-hit innings in his Cincinnati debut.

Lefty Nick Lodolo has yielded two earned runs in 12 2/3 innings.

Although the Reds were shut out three straight times by Texas and Milwaukee, that came immediately after Cincinnati's offense put up 14 runs in a win over the Rangers. The Reds also beat the Brewers 11-7 on Saturday.

For the White Sox, the future looks a lot more challenging. Chicago actually did have a couple bright spots last year on its way to 121 losses, but Erick Fedde was dealt to St. Louis in July and then Garrett Crochet was traded to Boston during the offseason.

Even without Fedde and Crochet, Chicago's rotation was sharp its first time through, but reality has set in since then. The White Sox have allowed 32 runs in their last five games.

Down lower

Speaking of good pitching numbers in an unexpected spot, Colorado's starters have posted a 2.61 ERA through 48 1/3 innings so far. That hasn't been enough for the Rockies, who managed just 18 runs through their first eight games and lost seven of them.

Don't assume the thin air at Coors Field has suddenly become a non-factor. Colorado began the season with seven straight road games against Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.

But even when the Rockies opened their home schedule against the Athletics, their starters were able to get through five innings in all three games, and Colorado's offense finally broke out in a 12-5 win Sunday.

First impression

The Athletics finally played their first three home games for the fans in the Sacramento area, and it wasn't pretty. They were swept by the Chicago Cubs, outscored 35-9 over the series,

That was more runs than the A's allowed in their first three home games the entire time they were in Oakland. In fact, it was a record for the whole franchise history. The Athletics gave up 31 runs in their first three home games in 1922, when the team represented Philadelphia.

Trivia time

Nathan Eovaldi pitched the first complete game in the majors this season when the Rangers beat Cincinnati on Tuesday night in one of those 1-0 games. Who is the last Texas pitcher besides Eovaldi to throw a complete game?

Line of the week

Martín Pérez threw six hitless innings in his debut for the White Sox on Monday, a 9-0 rout of Minnesota. He struck out nine with three walks.

Comeback of the week

The Houston Astros trailed 7-1 in the fifth inning Sunday against Minnesota before rallying to tie the game on a two-run homer by Yordan Alvarez in the ninth. Houston eventually won 9-7 in 10 innings.

The Twins had a win probability of 97.9% after taking a six-run lead in the fourth, according to Baseball Savant.

Trivia answer

Jon Gray in 2023.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb