Shane Smith Impresses Despite White Sox Struggles Against Red Sox

CHICAGO, Ill. — The Chicago White Sox selected pitcher Shane Smith in the Rule 5 Draft from the Milwaukee Brewers, and he has emerged as one of Major League Baseball‘s biggest surprises this season. Smith has consistently gone deep into games, surpassing the sixth inning in all of his starts while allowing no more than two runs in any outing.

This season, Smith has pitched a total of 17.2 innings, yielding only nine hits and four earned runs, good for a stellar 2.04 ERA. In his most recent start against the Boston Red Sox, he limited them to five hits and two runs, which were both driven in by Trevor Story.

In addition to Smith’s breakout performance, the White Sox have seen some positives amidst a difficult season where they currently sit at 4-15. Notably, Andrew Benintendi is having a solid season at the plate, which might position the White Sox to trade his contract mid-season for added prospects.

On the other side, the Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet has also been a revelation. Since joining from the White Sox, he has delivered a potent pitching performance, including a recent start against Chicago where he pitched 7.1 innings of no-hit baseball, only losing the bid for a no-hitter with a single from Chase Meidroth. He struck out 11 batters while walking just one.

Despite strong individual performances, Boston’s offense remains underwhelming. Several crucial hitters are struggling, including Tristan Casas at .172, Cedanne Rafaela at .213, and Rafael Devers at .228. Young talent Kristian Campbell, however, is hitting .288, while Alex Bregman is excelling with a .309 average, four homers, and a .910 OPS. Story has similarly found success with a .321 average and five home runs.

As the Red Sox look to establish their rhythm at the plate, they are likely to face another competitive outing against the White Sox’s Smith, who has proven he can hold his own against tough opponents. Nevertheless, experts predict the Red Sox will come away with a narrow victory, given Crochet’s dominance in recent matchups.