Davis Martin struggles as Sox bullpen implodes in loss

Right-hander Davis Martin’s uneven outing and a bullpen collapse helped the White Sox fall 6-5 to the Guardians in a walk-off defeat, shrinking their cushion in the AL Central and leaving his All-Star prospects in doubt.

CLEVELAND — The White Sox didn’t change anything to make room for right-hander Davis Martin’s All-Star hopes, even after his latest road struggle turned into a late-night unraveling.

After a 6-5, walk-off loss to the Guardians on Thursday night, manager Will Venable said, “That’s not something that we’re doing anything to adjust for.” For the Sox, it was a simple message: Martin’s path to July 14 in Philadelphia would be earned on the mound, not negotiated in rotation meetings.

But the game itself did the negotiating. Though three relievers combined to give up a three-run lead. the final blow came in the ninth inning when Brayan Rocchio hit a two-run homer off Grant Taylor. Taylor had already put two runners on before the homer. walking Rhys Hoskins on four pitches to start the ninth after throwing 16 pitches in the eighth.

Martin didn’t just fail to settle in — he left the bullpen exposed. He matched a season low with 3 ⅓ innings and failed to strike out anyone for the first time as a starter. When he exited, the Sox were trailing 2-0.

The start also underlined how different Martin can look depending on where he pitches. In seven starts at Rate Field, he has an 0.88 ERA and a 0.951 WHIP. In 10 starts on the road, his ERA climbs to 4.72 and his WHIP to 1.48. Against the Guardians, he allowed two earned runs, six hits, and five walks.

Still, Martin’s bigger body of work has kept his name in All-Star conversation. He has allowed two runs or fewer in all but four of his 17 starts. and those four were all on the road. He also has shown bursts of sharpness away from home. including his previous road start. when he held the Tigers to one run in six innings with only 77 pitches.

Starts like those have kept him on the radar. Starts like Thursday’s one have him stuck between the ideal and the damage. “It was infuriating, to be honest,” Davis said. “Just out of sync, fighting against myself, trying to make adjustments on the fly; adjustments weren’t working. Just one of those days you chalk it up to trying to limit as much damage as you can. try to go as deep as you can and try to keep your team in the game.”.

The Sox, for their part, walked nine batters in the game. The ninth inning turned into a case study in how free passes can turn a lead into a liability. After Taylor walked Hoskins, Rocchio’s homer followed one out later. It came on a first-pitch fastball that traveled 380 feet and clanged off the right-field foul pole.

Taylor pointed to the matchup and his confidence in the pitch. “I wasn’t lining the curveball earlier,” Taylor said. “I was going to stick to my strengths. I had a good fastball, especially to lefties. So I threw a pretty good location, but he was looking for it, got a good swing off.”

Venable tied the loss directly to the free passes. “We talked about coming into this series that limiting the free passes is really No. 1 on the pitching side to beat these guys,” he said. “And obviously tonight with the nine walks, you’re just not going to overcome that.”

Entering Thursday, Martin ranked eighth among major-league pitchers with a 3.2 WAR. He also generally has been able to go deep into games: he has thrown at least five innings in 14 starts and at least six innings in 10 starts. Thursday’s outing was the kind of failure that forces a bullpen to pay for it.

It also came at a time when the Sox were trying to hold something steady. With the loss, the Sox fell to 45-41 and fell back into a tie with the Guardians at 46-42.

Martin’s season history adds another layer to the stakes. He would be the Sox’ first homegrown right-hander to make the All-Star Game since James Baldwin in 2000. The Sox selected Martin, a Texas Tech product, in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB Draft.

But the road issues that define parts of his first half have now surfaced again right when the schedule gets unforgiving. The game was the road opener of a four-game series against the Sox’ first-place competitors in the American League Central. Davis didn’t face the Guardians last week at Rate Field. and with two more series against them — one in August and another in September — he figures to see them again. By then. Venable may have to consider whether the rotation can be tightened to keep Martin’s starts from turning into bullpen emergencies.

Still, the All-Star clock doesn’t wait. Rosters will be announced at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on Fox 32, and Martin knows his next opportunities may be the difference between getting to go to Philadelphia and watching from home.

White Sox Guardians Davis Martin bullpen collapse Brayan Rocchio Grant Taylor Will Venable All-Star Game AL Central