'He was painting the zone': Jack Flaherty quiets White Sox in Tigers' 7-4 victory (2025)

DETROIT — White Sox catcher Matt Thaiss started the second inning Friday against the Tigers with a nine-pitch at-bat, fouling off pitches, watching bad ones go by and showing restraint.

After Thaiss drew a walk with two outs, shortstop Brooks Baldwin pounced on a fastball high in the zone for a double to left field. What was surprising was that third-base coach Justin Jirschele sent Thaiss home, considering he ranks in the fifth percentile in sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant.

Thaiss hustled down the third-base line as Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler tried to gather in an errant relay throw by shortstop Trey Sweeney and make the tag at the plate. As Dingler lunged for Thaiss, he lost control of the ball and Thaiss scored.

Thaiss’ run was the Sox’ only one of the game until they rallied for three in the ninth in a 7-4 loss. The Tigers’ pitching staff, particularly starter Jack Flaherty, held the Sox’ lineup in check. Flaherty limited the Sox to one run and three hits and struck out seven in 5⅔ innings.

‘‘He was painting the zone,’’ said third baseman Miguel Vargas, who had a hit and an RBI. ‘‘He was attacking us really well.’’

For the most part, the Sox’ offense has struggled early this season. Entering the game Friday, the team ranked 18th in runs scored, 24th in on-base percentage, 15th in slugging percentage and 18th in weighted runs created plus.

Still, Sox hitters are confident things will turn for them.

‘‘We are taking good at-bats,’’ Vargas said. ‘‘Our approach has been there. We have a couple of games with good results. Sometimes it’s just baseball. We are going to be fine.’’

Montgomery struggling

It’s early, but shortstop Colson Montgomery’s struggles at Triple-A Charlotte are magnified, given that he’s among the prospects who are supposed to be spending the summer at Rate Field.

Entering Charlotte’s game Friday, Montgomery had yet to draw a walk and had struck out 15 times. This comes after a lackluster 2024 season that saw him bat .214/.329/.381.

Sox manager Will Venable said he leaves advice duties to Charlotte manager Sergio Santos.

‘‘Twenty at-bats is 20 at-bats,’’ Venable said. ‘‘He’ll do everything he can to make sure he gets back on track and keeps going.

‘‘[If] he has one good weekend, his numbers are right where we want them to be. I know that he’ll be in a good spot. He left spring training in a good spot. I don’t think anyone’s going to look too deeply in 20 at-bats.’’

The struggles are worrisome, however, given that Montgomery is expected to be one of the pillars of the Sox’ rebuild.

Injury update

Outfielder Mike Tauchman (hamstring) is on a rehab assignment in Charlotte.

He served as the designated hitter in one game and played six innings in the outfield in another. He had a day off Thursday and was scheduled to play Friday. There’s no timetable for his return to the Sox.

‘‘We were transparent with him on what the game plan was, but we also said there was going to be some flexibility,’’ Venable said. ‘‘We want to take it day by day, see how he comes out today and reevaluate.’’

DETROIT — White Sox catcher Matt Thaiss started the second inning with a lengthy nine-pitch at-bat. Fouling off pitches, watching bad ones go by and showing restraint. After drawing a walk with two outs, shortstop Brooks Baldwin pounced on a fastball high in the zone to left field for a double.

But what was surprising was that the third-base coach, Justin Jirschele, sent Thaiss home — he’s in the 5th percentile in sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant. But Thaiss hustled down the third-base line as catcher Dillon Dingler tried to gather an errant relay throw by shortstop Trey Sweeney and make the tag at home plate. As Dangler lunged for Thaiss, the ball left his glove and Thaiss’ run stood.

Until a ninth-inning rally, Thaiss’ run stood as the lone run in the game. The Tigers pitching staff held the Sox lineup in check, particularly right-hander Jack Flaherty. Flaherty limited the Sox to three hits over 5⅔ innings, allowing one run and two walks while striking out seven.

“He was painting the zone,” said third baseman Miguel Vargas, who contributed with a hit and an RBI. “He was attacking us really well.”

Independent of Flaherty’s masterful performance, the Sox’ offense has largely been punchless this season.

Entering Friday’s game, the Sox were 18th in total runs scored. They were also 24th in on-base percentage, 15th in slugging percentage and 18th in wRC+.

Despite the stretches of quietness, Sox hitters remain confident that it will turn for them.

“We are taking good at-bats,” Vargas said. “Our approach has been there. We have a couple of games with good results. Sometimes it’s just baseball. We don’t get the result we expect. We are going to be fine.”

Montgomery struggles

It’s early, but in the case of top prospect Colson Montgomery, his struggles at Triple-A Charlotte are more magnified.

Entering Friday’s game, he’s yet to draw a walk and has struck out 15 times in five games. This showing comes after a lackluster 2023 season that saw him bat .214/.329/.381.

Manager Will Venable said he leaves advice duties to Triple-A Charlotte manager Sergio Santos.

“Twenty at-bats is 20 at-bats,” Venable said. “He’ll do everything he can to make sure he gets back on track and keeps going.

“He has one good weekend and his numbers are right where we want them to be. I know that he’ll be in a good spot. He left spring training in a good spot. I don’t think anyone’s going to look too deeply in 20 at-bats.”

But the struggles aren’t ideal, given that Montgomery is expected to be one of the core pillars of this rebuild.

Injury update

Outfielder Mike Tauchman (hamstring) is on a rehab assignment in Charlotte. He DH’d one game and played six innings in the outfield for the other. He had an off day on Thursday and played on Friday.

There’s still not a timetable for his return.

“We were transparent with him on what the game plan was, but we also said there was going to be some flexibility,” Venable said. “We want to take it day by day, see how he comes out today and reevaluate.”