After surrendering a late lead in Milwaukee, Seranthony Domínguez shoulders the blame as early pitching concerns continue for the White Sox.
We all know better than to overreact to three games at the beginning of a 162-game regular season. But after watching the opening series for the Chicago White Sox in Milwaukee, it’s pretty hard not to.
After being outscored 20-3 and completely outclassed through the first two games of the season, the White Sox still had an opportunity on Sunday to get back on track and build a little confidence before departing for Miami. And for most of the game, it looked like they were going to do just that.
A first-inning grand slam from Colson Montgomery was followed by home runs from Munetaka Murakami and Everson Pereira, and the White Sox jumped out to a 7-2 lead. But after the bullpen ran into trouble with traffic on the bases, Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich launched a three-run home run off White Sox closer Seranthony Domínguez to cap off a six-run eighth inning.
The White Sox would go on to lose 9-7—a completely deflating defeat that can suck the energy out of both a fan base and a clubhouse.
The White Sox didn’t pay $20 million for Seranthony Domínguez this offseason just to endure more bullpen implosions. But they also didn’t do enough to meaningfully address their pitching staff to expect a dramatically different result.
Everyone knows a bullpen is only as good as the support it gets from the starting rotation, and the White Sox have gotten just 10.1 combined innings from their first three starters this season. That’s a lot of innings left uncovered, and it has forced the bullpen to carry an early and unsustainable workload.
Will Venable had to go to Chris Murphy in back-to-back games, and on Sunday, Murphy wasn’t sharp. Murphy loaded the bases with one out in a 7-4 game, and although Domínguez came in and induced a pop-up from William Contreras, a Luis Rengifo single and the aforementioned Yelich home run quickly flipped the game and put the White Sox away.
Of course, it’s not all on Domínguez. But when you’re the closer—the high-leverage arm—and you’re paid like one, the blame is going to fall on your shoulders. Domínguez understood that when he spoke to the media afterward, taking full responsibility for the loss.
“It was a very bad moment for our team and me. I was so close to getting out of it and then just made a really bad mistake right down the middle,” said Domínguez. “I feel really bad because I threw the game away today, and the other guys made a really good effort. I feel terrible for that.”
Domínguez has been here before. This is part of the reality of being a high-leverage reliever. So what’s his plan moving forward?
“Flush it and get ready to win tomorrow,” he said.
The White Sox will begin a three-game series against the Miami Marlins on Monday, with first pitch set for 5:40 p.m. They’ll look to pick up some wins and build momentum before returning to Chicago for their home opener at Rate Field on April 2.