Watching the White Sox on opening day, it’s sort of hard to believe this is the same team that set a record for losing last season. They beat the Angels 8-1 in front of a crowd of 31,403 at Rate Field on Thursday, and it would take a significant effort in picking through the minutiae to find real fault with that win.
Starter Sean Burke, with just three major league starts to his name, pitched six scoreless innings without walking anyone and worked out of jams in the first and second inning. The bullpen was nearly flawless; only ninth inning guy Cam Booser gave up a run, and between him, Penn Murfee, Jordan Leasure, and Mike Clevinger, the relievers struck out seven and walked just two Angels batters.
On offense, new right fielder Austin Slater introduced himself by hitting a solo home run in the second inning, the first of three White Sox home runs on the day. Leadoff batter Miguel Vargas, who struggled mightily at the plate after coming over from the Dodgers at the 2024 trade deadline, had two hits. Luis Robert, Jr., pushing aside the distraction of trade rumors, hit a first inning double. Andrew Benintendi, an unlikely presence in the lineup after a spring training injury, hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning. Lenyn Sosa, the 13th different opening day starting second baseman for the White Sox in the last thirteen years, added his own two-run blast.
Even on defense, the group that ranked last in 2024 gave a solid showing on Thursday. They made some impressive plays but also showed a mastery of the routine that wasn’t always present last season. Again, it would take some effort to find a serious flaw in the White Sox’ opening day win.
“It was good,” Benintendi said. “You never want to look too much into Opening Day. It’s not like we’re going to go out and win 162 games, you’ve got to be realistic. But all the way around, I think the lineup did well. The pitchers did well. So it’s definitely something to build off of.”
One of the things to build off of is Burke. Him getting the ball for opening day was a bit of a surprise, but he showed why the team has faith in him. He balanced his slider and four-seam fastball effectively, but it was his curveball that helped him get out of those first and second-inning jams.
Burke said he didn’t feel good movement on his breaking pitches in Arizona because of the thinner air and lack of moisture, but as soon as he got back to Chicago, he could sense a difference. When the team arrived back home on Tuesday, Burke said he and Jonathan Cannon went out to play catch, and it was apparent to both of them that the life on Burke’s curveball had returned.
“The first three curveballs I threw hit him in the ankles, and I was like ‘Oh, this is back. This is moving how it should be, this is perfect,'” he said.
No one wants to throw cold water on such a nice win, but the question, of course, is how much stock White Sox fans should put in one game. The CHGO White Sox staff’s predictions were for at least 100 losses across the board, and that will probably happen. It’s fair to point out that the lowly 2024 White Sox still managed to win the season series against the Angels, so beating up on them Thursday might not mean a whole lot.
That said, if the White Sox play like they did on Thursday against any team, they are bound to be much more competitive than last year. New manager Will Venable, who notched his first career win as a skipper and earned a postgame Gatorade shower from the players for it, said that there’s a desire within the clubhouse to move on from last season, and starting off this campaign with a win is a solid first step in that direction.
“This is a new season and a clean slate,” Venable said. “We’re excited to get it off to a good start. These guys were getting in a lot of work in the offseason and obviously in spring training, so for that to end in a win to start the season is a lot of fun.”
All the losing last year has given this group an extra something to play for. They will almost certainly still struggle through stretches and stand a chance of losing a lot of games again, but the 2025 White Sox are a galvanized group.
“I think everyone kind of has a chip on their shoulders from last year,” Burke said. “We know what kind of team we can be, and I think just trying to go out every single day and just enjoy the game and play to the best of our ability is kind of what our motto is going to be going forward.”
