CINCINNATI -- From the first batter Thursday afternoon, Bryse Wilson was battling.
The right-hander took the loss in a 7-1 setback to the Reds in the series finale at Great American Ball Park. But it’s how Wilson handled the day that showed his professionalism and character.
It’s the old expression in baseball, taking one for the team. Wilson did his very best to do that Thursday, allowing seven runs on 10 hits and one walk over 5 1/3 innings in his fourth start (14th outing) of the season.
While Cincinnati starter Nick Martinez was in cruise control, retiring the first 13 Chicago batters he faced before a Matt Thaiss sharp single to right in the fifth, Wilson was battling just to get through each inning.
Often, when a pitcher gives up three runs in the first inning, as Wilson did, it can snowball quickly. While Wilson surrendered one run in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, he at least managed to pitch into the sixth on 90 pitches (57 strikes).
“Obviously, he didn't have his best stuff,” White Sox skipper Will Venable said. “He just really never got on track, and they attacked and put a lot of balls in play hard. But he continued to battle and covered 5 1/3 innings for us, and with where our bullpen was, that was huge.”
Before the game, Venable spoke of the significance of starting pitching and the club’s rotation giving the White Sox a chance to get a leg up early in games. In Tuesday's 5-1 win, Jonathan Cannon relieved opener Brandon Eisert and tossed six scoreless innings without issuing a walk. In Wednesday's 4-2 win, starter Davis Martin allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings without a walk.
On Thursday, Wilson walked Cincinnati leadoff batter Gavin Lux on four pitches.
“Second start in a row, walk in the first [inning] on four pitches, which is unacceptable,” lamented Wilson. “And physically, I felt good. It's just very bad execution.”
The walk was followed by a bunt single from Santiago Espinal, a bloop single down the left-field line from Elly De La Cruz and a sacrifice fly from Austin Hays.
The silver lining is that it was the only walk of the day for Wilson. But that was overshadowed by the fact that he gave up the seven runs, including three home runs. Perhaps the biggest hit of the day was the two-out single from Will Benson in the first that drove home the final two runs in the three-run first inning for Cincinnati.
“You just try to flush it as much as you can,” Wilson added. “The offense is swinging it pretty well, so three runs [can be overcome]. So, it's just at that point, just go out and put up as many zeros as we can after that. Obviously, it didn't work out that way, but that's the thought process after that.”
“I thought he did a decent job of limiting the damage,” said Thaiss, who was catching Wilson. “I'm sure he’ll tell you he didn't have his best stuff. He made some quality pitches, especially in that first inning. We kind of just fell behind on the first hitter, and it kind of spiraled a little bit from there, but [he] did a good job ending that inning where it did.”
Perhaps the biggest metaphor for the White Sox and Wilson’s day was another two-out RBI hit from Benson in the fifth, a deep fly to center that went off the glove of a leaping Luis Robert Jr. and into the center-field stands before bouncing back onto the field for a solo home run and a 6-0 Cincinnati lead.
“I saw the replay on the board. [Robert] looked like he had it, and it just got away from him there,” Venable said. “But he's really good around the wall and usually makes those plays. But it's an exceptional play, and it would have been awesome, but he gave it everything he had.”
“Quite frankly, when I touched first base, I thought he did catch it,” Benson said. “Then I saw the ball fall on the ground, so I had a little bit of hope.”
The White Sox weren’t able to complete their first road sweep since July 1-3, 2022, vs. the Giants, but the momentum from two series wins in a row is something they hope to carry into Wrigley Field on Friday for Rivalry Weekend.
“You win the series, and we were feeling really good and we thought we were in a good spot to play a good game today,” Venable said. “It’s disappointing not to do that. But overall, a great series. And we'll turn the page on today and go out and fight the Cubs.”