As with most of his Chicago White Sox teammates, first baseman Andrew Vaughn struggled at the plate to begin the season.
Things are turning around lately.
Vaughn belted two home runs in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the visiting Washington Nationals on Tuesday, and he will hope to keep going Wednesday as Chicago tries to win its third series in the past four.
For Vaughn, patience has been key. He hit 21 home runs in 2023 and has his first three of this season in the past five games.
“I was hitting the ball hard,” Vaughn said. “I had to make some adjustments, but in time, good things come.”
Chicago hopes that refrain keeps ringing true. After skidding to a 3-22 start, the White Sox have won 10 of 18, including five of their past seven.
The White Sox rebounded from a 6-3 loss in the doubleheader opener on Tuesday to claim a 4-0 victory in the nightcap. Erick Fedde pitched seven sharp innings against his former team in the second game, and Vaughn hit a three-run homer and solo shot.
Two of his three home runs over the past week have gone to the opposite field. No surprise to Vaughn.
“Just stay (with it),” he said. “My whole childhood, I’ve been a middle or other way kind of guy. Not really a pull guy. I feel like that keeps me on my best swing.”
Washington fell to 2-3 on a nine-game road trip. While the Nationals played errorless ball in Game 2, they worked around three errors in the opener, continuing a recent rough stretch in the field.
“It’s very unexpected because we’ve played really well, you know,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “But we’ve got young kids, right? Those things are going to happen. We’ve got to keep working, keep praising them, because they are playing well.”
Joey Meneses went 4-for-4 in the opener for the Nationals. Eddie Rosario doubled in the nightcap to stretch his hitting streak to a season-best nine games.
That success aside, Martinez noted the overall inconsistency in the team’s attack.
Fedde, who pitched for the Nationals for six seasons, kept Washington off-balance throughout the night.
“Our big thing is that when we start chasing, you know, we’re not very good,” Martinez said. “We’ve got to get the ball in the zone. See some balls up. Work counts. And then we put the ball in play.”
The Wednesday pitching matchup features two left-handers, as Chicago’s Garrett Crochet (3-4, 4.63 ERA) will oppose Washington’s Patrick Corbin (1-3, 5.91).
Crochet is seeking his third straight win. In victories against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 5 and the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, he limited foes to one run and eight hits in 12 innings with 17 strikeouts and zero walks. Wednesday will mark his first career appearance against the Nationals.
Corbin will try for his 99th career victory. He picked up his first win of 2024 on Friday, yielding one run and seven hits in five innings against the Boston Red Sox.
In two career starts versus the White Sox, Corbin is 1-1 with an 8.18 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 11 innings.
–Field Level Media