Sep 18, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Chicago White Sox designated hitter Andrew Vaughn (25) is greeted by teammates after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Historic run for White Sox ends with Smith’s strong MLB debut
CHICAGO — It was hours before Shane Smith took the mound for the White Sox during an 8-3 loss to the Twins on Tuesday night at Rate Field when Mike Vasil, his teammate, friend and offseason throwing partner, delivered a special message.
“I told him today when I walked in, ‘Happy Start Day,’” Vasil said before Smith made his Major League debut. “I’m very excited to watch him pitch.”
Vasil was not alone.
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In front of his mom and dad, two sisters and brother, Smith picked up right where Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin and Martín Pérez had left off in this almost spotless first turn through the White Sox rotation by opening with five scoreless innings.
Smith’s effort meant White Sox starters went 28 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to start the 2025 season, leaving them behind only the 1963 Cardinals (32 innings), the 1976 Brewers (31 2/3), and the 2015 Tigers (28 1/3) in MLB history, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Smith struck out three, walked four and gave up two hits on a night more befitting for football than the fifth game of the baseball season. He fanned Carlos Correa swinging on a changeup for his first career strikeout and then got Ryan Jeffers looking on a slider to strand two runners in the first.
“A little shaky on the first hitter, but after that I settled in pretty good,” said Smith, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the White Sox No. 26 prospect. “Tried to keep the emotions in check leading up to today. I think I did a pretty good job.”
“He did great. That was awesome. He was under control,” manager Will Venable said of Smith. “I thought he had composure out there, really overpowering with the fastball, good secondary stuff. Was able to mix it up and get some really good hitters out. We weren’t able to seal the deal from him there in the sixth.”
Matt Wallner flied out and Correa grounded out to open the sixth in seemingly harmless fashion, but Smith walked Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach, bringing an end to his night at 73 pitches. Both runners scored when the Twins rallied for five runs against reliever Penn Murfee, with two charged to Smith.
For the night, Smith averaged 94.9 mph on his four-seamer and topped out at 97.3 mph, per Statcast. But his velocity dropped in that sixth, something pitching coach Ethan Katz checked on with Smith, which could also be chalked up to the frigid weather.
“We were ready with Murfee,” Venable said. “Really liked him in that spot. Shane had done his job for the night, and so we thought that was a good spot to turn it over to the bullpen.”
“It’s tough when you [have] a starter like Shane in his debut. He did so well,” Murfee said. “You want to come in and do a job and minimize, get out of the inning for him. But I’ll credit [the Twins batters]: They put the ball where the fielders weren’t, and there’s definitely pitches you want to take back in those situations. But all you can do is learn from it and keep going.”
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Getting out of his mechanics became a problem identified by Smith against those final hitters.
“Whether I say I’m tired or I’m not, if I’m missing fastballs up, that’s an indication,” Smith said. “I wanted the last guy. I think every guy wants their last guy. They don’t want to be pulled in the middle of an inning. I felt good for most of it but didn’t throw strikes when I had to.”
Nick Maton’s second home run of the season, along with two RBIs from shortstop Brooks Baldwin, staked the White Sox to a 3-0 advantage. They also played great defense behind Smith, something on display throughout this 2-3 start to the season.
Even without the individual or team victory, it was an unforgettable night for Smith. The top pick in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft had somewhere around 50 people in his corner at the ballpark. That list included family, friends and two of his former summer coaches who had checked in with Smith over the years.
This Smith journey included throwing just 10 1/3 innings over two years at Wake Forest, with COVID-19 and Tommy John surgery covering most of 2020-21. But on Tuesday, Smith officially made it, even though there were times when he thought this night never would come.
“Yeah, that thought creeps in,” Smith said. “But the thought of wanting to be here, it’s a little stronger. And to finally have it happen is pretty surreal.”
May’s emotional return from life-threatening ordeal fuels LA’s record start to season
LOS ANGELES — Dustin May closed his eyes and took a deep breath when he stepped back on the mound at Dodger Stadium, as if taking it all in anew. Then he got to work.
May struck out the side in his first inning against the Braves on Tuesday night, an auspicious start to five strong frames in which he struck out six and allowed just one unearned run on one hit and three walks. It was his first meaningful game on a big league mound in 685 days.
While he had been all business at the beginning of his outing, he practically skipped off the mound with joy to end it, clearly fired up after inducing an inning-ending double play to wrap his first Major League start since May 17, 2023.
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“Even if it would have went bad, I still would have been having a good time just being back on a big league mound,” May said. “It literally meant the world to me just to be back out on the mound. About eight months ago, I didn’t know if I would be.”
May ended up with a no-decision as the Dodgers came from behind to beat the Braves, 3-1, continuing their undefeated start to the season that ranks as the team’s best since moving to L.A. in 1958 and the third best in franchise history. The 2025 Dodgers and 1933 Yankees are the only defending champions to begin the season 7-0, according to the Elias Sports Bureau
