White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn was sharp with three strikeouts in the first inning, then he walked the first three Padres batters he faced in the second. A strikeout and double play kept runs off the board, and a fired up Lynn gave it to plate umpire on his way off field.
A leadoff walk in the third hiked his free-pass total to four. Lynn also struck out five, but got his pitch count too high to finish the third. He was not charged with a run.
“The walks can’t happen, that has to be cleaned up,” Lynn said. “But overall stuff wise, it’s where it needs to be. The walks will clean themselves up. I liked the shape of the curveball today, got some strikeouts on it.”
Lynn pitched two hitless innings with a walk and three strikeouts against the Giants in his first start. He has eight strikeouts in 4 2⁄3 innings.
Crochet ‘only’ at 98 mph
Left-hander Garrett Crochet pitched a scoreless inning, albeit without the 100-mph plus velocity he regularly showcased making his major league debut last September. The 21-year-old touched 98 and sat in the 95-96 mph range.
Crochet did not allow a run in five appearances last season and struck out the Athletics batters he faced in Game 3 of the 2020 wild card playoff before exiting with a left forearm strain. Crochet topped out at 99 in his first spring outing Saturday, in which he pitched a scoreless inning with no strikeouts against the Reds.
Roster cuts
The Sox were expected to make their first round of camp roster cuts after the game.
On deck
Wednesday will be an off day (the only one of the spring).
At Reds Thursday, 8:05 p.m., Reynaldo Lopez starting.
Upcoming starters: Friday, Lucas Giolito; Saturday, Jimmy Lambert.
