ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Noah Schultz pumped his fist as he walked off the mound after striking out Victor Mesa Jr. to wrap up the sixth inning.
The left-hander allowed one run over five strong innings after entering in the second on Saturday as the bulk pitcher. But the Chicago White Sox couldn’t get much going offensively, falling 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays in front of 23,309 at Tropicana Field.
Schultz allowed three hits, struck out four and did not surrender a walk following opener Jordan Hicks, who retired the side in order in the first.
“Was pretty efficient and didn’t throw a ton of pitches,” Schultz said of the 67-pitch outing. “Something that we’ve really been trying to hammer in here the last month or so. Something that really shows that being efficient and getting ahead of guys really makes a difference.”
Schultz said the game plan and being on the same page with catcher Edgar Quero were important factors on the day.
“I thought he was really good with the righties with the sinker glove side, and then used the cutter off of that as well,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “So a good job, kind of dominated the inside part of the zone and obviously threw a ton of strikes.”
The game’s only run came in the fifth. Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca led off with a single to left field. He stole second, moved to third on a grounder to first and scored on Nick Fortes’ two-out single to left. The hit by Fortes had an exit velocity of 70 mph.
The Rays won despite being limited to five hits by four Sox pitchers — a single in the fourth by Yandy Díaz, the singles by DeLuca and Fortes in the fifth and singles by Díaz and Chandler Simpson in the eighth.
The Sox were held to five hits as well while being blanked for the seventh time this season.
Two of the hits came from Quero, including a single to shallow left field with two outs in the fifth on which Braden Montgomery went from first to third. Quero took second on a throwing error on the play. Sam Antonacci then hit a ball hard but right at the right fielder Mesa for the third out.
“That was kind of our chance tonight,” Venable said.
Antonacci added, “It’s part of the game. It all adds up eventually. I’m sure I’ll get a bloop hit and I’m sure I’ll line out hard again. … You can’t feel sorry for yourself.”
Rays starter Drew Rasmussen allowed four hits, walked one and struck out 10 in six scoreless innings.
“He attacked us with all of his pitches today,” Antonacci said. “Stuff was working and just out-competed us today. We didn’t do a bad job but we got away from our game plan and kind of chased him up.
“But that’s going to happen with an elite pitcher like him.”
Miguel Vargas lined out to left field to begin the ninth inning against Rays closer Bryan Baker. Randal Grichuk also hit a ball hard, but it went foul down the left-field line. He struck out to end the game.
“Just a really good baseball game,” Venable said. “Two good teams playing there, obviously pitching on both sides was outstanding. Not a lot of action offensively. Good defense. But yeah, (a) really well-played game.”
Roch Cholowsky heads to Winston-Salem
Shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the top pick in the 2026 draft, will join High A Winston-Salem on Monday ahead of the team’s game Tuesday against Asheville.
“I think it’s the best place for him to get going,” Sox director of player development Paul Janish said Saturday at Tropicana Field. “If I’m being honest about Roch’s ability, he could go to pretty much any level we have. I think it’s important to remember the trajectory with the hope for the major leagues at some point, we are just introducing him to the pro level.
“It’s the first time he’ll have the opportunity to play six games in one week, right? So, just getting him going with the understanding you have to take into consideration the fact that he’s got to get built up. For us, it just makes the most sense.”
In injury-rehab news, pitcher Drew Thorpe allowed one hit and struck out five in four scoreless innings with Double-A Birmingham against Chattanooga on Thursday. He is scheduled to pitch five innings for the Barons on Wednesday and then move up to Triple A.
The right-hander is working his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He has allowed three runs over eight innings in three outings, making one start each with the Arizona Complex League White Sox, Winston-Salem and Birmingham.
“All signs point to good for him so far,” Janish said.
