​Chicago White Sox starter Davis Martin has been strong at Rate Field this season, but he hit a bump Wednesday in front of a home crowd of 23,973, surrendering five runs over four innings in a 5-0 defeat to the Boston Red Sox. He yielded six hits, struck out two and walked two in the loss. The White Sox have dropped the first two games of the series, ending their club-record streak of 10 straight home series wins. “There were some good spots,” Martin said. “Mechanically, I felt really in sync in those first two innings. It felt crisp and clean, and then it went downhill from there. There are a lot of positive takeaways, but overall, it wasn’t good. Going into the All-Star break, I’ll enjoy some time with my family, take a little time away from baseball, celebrate what this first half was, and get ready to go for the second half.”
Despite the loss, the Sox (47-44) remain alone in first place in the American League Central. They sit one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians (47-46), who fell 6-5 to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. The Twins (46-47) are two games back. Martin entered Wednesday with an 0.88 ERA in seven home starts this season. He retired the first six batters, but the Red Sox carved out some hard-hit outs in the first two innings. In the third, Martin walked two and both came around to score. The frame began with Jarren Duran’s leadoff walk, who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Tsung-Che Cheng’s single. Martin then walked Anthony Seigler, and Ceddanne Rafaela followed with a double, scoring Cheng to give Boston a 2-0 lead. Seigler later scored on a wild pitch. The Red Sox added two more runs in the fourth on RBI hits by Carlos Narváez and Cheng.
“I think it was a bit of getting guys on base and trying to be quick,” Martin said. “It’s easy when no one’s on base—you can be slow, feel stuff out. When guys are on, you have to be a little faster, make sure your time to the plate is good to give (catcher Kyle) Teel a chance to throw some guys out. I made some adjustments on the fly.” The White Sox also announced a few other notes in the day’s news cycle, including updates on top prospects and coaching staff, as the organization looks ahead to the rest of the season. Overall, Martin felt his mechanics were better than last week, but he acknowledged the physical toll of the first half is starting to show. With the All-Star break approaching, he plans to recuperate and gear up for the second half.