CLEVELAND — Chicago White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth singled with one out in the third inning Friday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Left fielder Will Robertson followed with another single.
Those turned out to be the only two hits of the game for the Sox in a 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in front of 21,779 at Progressive Field.
Guardians starter Tanner Bibee went the distance, allowing the two hits while striking out 10. He did not issue a walk but hit one batter — Robertson leading off the ninth inning.
“We haven’t been able to solve for him all year,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “He’s been tough on us in the first two outings (allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings on July 12 and striking out seven while surrendering four runs on Aug. 8, winning both games). And obviously tonight he was outstanding. Just had us in between, I thought that was the case last time we faced him, where you’re trying to get him up, eliminate the bottom of the zone, but we had too many takes in the zone.
“Just needed to meet his aggression a little better there. Credit to him, he pitched great.”
Bibee escaped the two-on, one-out jam in the third by getting Mike Tauchman to ground into a double play. He went on to throw his first shutout as a pro. Bibee became the first Cleveland pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout since Zach Plesac on Sept. 10, 2019, against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
“I have to tip my cap to him, he pitched a really good game,” said Sox catcher Kyle Teel, who went 0-for-4 to see his on-base streak end at 20 games. “He was locating his offspeed really well and using his fastball for effect.
Sox starter Martín Pérez pitched well in the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
“Martín was great,” Venable said. “I thought he got better as the game went on. Worked out of some trouble there in the first, got the big double-play ball.
“Obviously, (there was) the homer to (David) Fry (in the fourth inning), (but) outside of that, (it) seemed like a ton of soft contact.”
Pérez struck out three and walked two in the 96-pitch outing.
“As the game went on, he really, really sharpened up his stuff,” Teel said. “It was really great to see. The first inning, he had to grind through, it was a long inning for him and he threw a lot of pitches, but the fact he was able to go as long as he did just shows how good of a pitcher he is.”
Pérez faced trouble in the first, walking the first two batters. But José Ramírez grounded into a double play and Fry popped out to third baseman Miguel Vargas.
“I think I was trying too much in the first inning,” Pérez said. “(And then) I got the sinker down and away to Ramírez and we got the double play and then the third out.
“We just had to move the ball and the plan was good.”
Pérez didn’t allow a hit until the solo home run by Fry with two outs in the fourth. Austin Hedges drove in a run with a broken-bat hit in the fifth. Pérez was charged with another run in the seventh.
“I think (the outing) was good,” Pérez said. “Just one miss with the cutter away for the homer and the second run was just a broken bat, nothing you could do. I feel good.”
The Sox (57-91) just couldn’t get much going offensively as they were blanked for the 10th time this season.
“They hit better than us, they pitched better than us and they won the game,” Pérez said. “Sometimes you’ve got to give credit to the opponent. They played better than us today and they got the win.”
The Sox completed the game without center fielder Brooks Baldwin, who exited in the sixth inning with left hip soreness.
“He’s going to get it scanned (Saturday),” Venable said. “Just some tightness there that he’s dealt with a little bit here and there so we’ll check him out and get more information (Saturday).”
