Paul Sullivan: White Sox shake off their freaky Friday with a 6-3 win over the Guardians

CHICAGO — Will Venable is the front-runner to be voted the American League Manager of the Year.

His Chicago White Sox players credit him with creating a winning culture, and his bosses, general manager Chris Getz and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, believe the rebuild was fast-forwarded by his hiring in 2024.

But Venable’s gaffe on Friday at Rate Field — forcing starter Noah Schultz out of the game in the first inning by inadvertently making the team’s second mound appearance — was something he knew he’d have to wear for a while.

“Inexcusable,” he admitted afterward, a valid criticism that many Sox fans agreed with.

Before Saturday’s 6-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians in a nationally televised game on Ozzie Guillén’s number retirement night, I asked Venable if he was able to shake it off like he did after a bad game as a player.

“Not easy to shake off at all,” he said. “Still working on that.”

Did he sleep OK?

“No! I did not sleep OK,” he said, raising his voice while laughing.

Are you OK now?

“No! But that’s OK,” he said. “We’ve got a game to play and that’s the thing I appreciate about our group is I’m not perfect, the players aren’t perfect, we’re all going to make mistakes.

“That was an awful mistake yesterday and one that I’ll own and probably lose sleep over for a couple more nights. But we’ve got a game to play and we’re excited about that. That’s what this league is about. You’ve got to dust yourself off and get back up and go to battle. So that’s what we’re going to do.”

Consider Venable dusted off, at least for now.

The Sox rallied with a five-run sixth inning to snap a four-game losing streak, moving three games ahead of the Guardians and Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.

Rhys Hoskins’ two-run, sixth-inning home run off Anthony Kay gave the Guardians a brief lead, and Gavin Williams held them to one hit over five innings. But the Sox broke through in their half of the sixth on Munetaka Murakami’s solo home run off Williams and a pair of two-run hits by Tristan Peters and Chase Meidroth against reliever Colin Holderman.

The bullpen did the rest, with Bryan Hudson and Grant Taylor pitching the final two innings.

“We needed that one,” Venable said. “I don’t think there are two ways about it. It was a great game, especially to come back there against Gavin Williams, who continues to be really hard to score upon.”

The pomp and ceremony of Guillén’s number retirement before Saturday’s game managed to somewhat dull the pain of Friday’s loss, Venable’s gaffe and the last-minute cancellation of Ja Rule’s postgame concert, which made a bad night worse for a few thousand hip-hop fans who only came for the music.

The Sox brought up top pitching prospects Hagen Smith and Tanner McDougal from Triple-A Charlotte, bringing some more youth to the bullpen while giving the media something else to write about, and sending Schultz and David Sandlin back to the minors.

A sellout crowd of 38,227 turned up at the Rate, with standing room only tickets going for $100, showing that Sox fans love Guillén and remain invested in the team. As easy as it is to find fault with the ballpark, it’s still an electric place when it’s full of Sox fans swilling and singing and swaying to the music.

It was also Bud Billiken Day, which former manager Jerry Manuel always insisted was the unofficial start of the pennant race, proclaiming: “Now the season begins!”

These are uncertain times for Sox fans, who are programmed at birth to expect the rug will be pulled out from under them whenever things are going well. The Sox haven’t won a playoff series since 2005, and though this season has been a shot in the arm, they’re still barely over .500 with a rotation where only Sean Burke has been consistent.

The trade deadline acquisitions might help, but they still have a hole with Schultz being optioned to Triple A on Saturday. They will have to call someone up from Charlotte or perhaps stick Erick Fedde back in the fifth spot.

Meanwhile, Venable’s moves will be scrutinized more after the gaffe. Venable’s mistake was inexcusable, as he admitted, and he deserved the pounding he took on social media. It was similar to the internet abuse Getz took in spring training for repeatedly saying new infielder Luisangel Acuña was a switch-hitter.

Getz told me in spring training he “caught a lot of deserved flak” over his gaffe. Former teammate Gordon Beckham particularly enjoyed seeing his friend sweat, telling Getz: “Oh my gosh, this is amazing, you are going to get absolutely torched.”

Venable has spent most of the last two years defending his players when they’ve messed up, rarely criticizing them, at least in public. Now it’s up to the Sox players to pick up Venable, as they would try to do for a reliever after a blown save.

After Sunday’s rubber game against the Guardians, another sellout is on deck Tuesday when they give away pope hats, a clever promotion linked to the fandom of Pope Leo XIV, the gift that keeps on giving.

Maybe the 38,000 cosplaying popes on hand will offer Venable some papal absolution?

We can only pray.

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