CHICAGO _ This would have been a nice night to have Michael Kopech start. Or Carlos Rodon. Or Dylan Cease. Or even Dylan Covey.
But a combination of injuries and, in Cease's case, slightly delayed development resulted in White Sox manager Rick Renteria handing the ball to Odrisamer Despaigne.
The 32-year-old journeyman pitched OK on Monday against the Nationals in his Sox debut, allowing three runs in six innings. But Sox hitters couldn't do enough to make it a game, and the bullpen was brutal. Leury Garcia's sixth-inning homer accounted for the only offense in a 12-1 defeat.
The White Sox bullpen gave up nine runs in three innings.
James McCann had two hits, boosting his average to .329. Yoan Moncada singled in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games but left the game a half-inning later with upper-back tightness. He is day-to-day.
Nationals right fielder Adam Eaton had a big game in his return to the South Side. Swapped after the 2016 season for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning, Eaton went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI single.
