A blister, three weeks, and a number that will not move
Davis Martin last won a baseball game on June 10. The Chicago White Sox beat Atlanta 2-1 that night. His record read 9-6 then. It reads 9-6 now.
The right-hander is expected to come off the 15-day injured list on Wednesday to start the third game of a four-game series at Houston. The teams split the first two. A blister on a finger of his pitching hand put him on the shelf after a two-inning outing against Cincinnati on Aug. 13, when he allowed four runs on two hits.
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From Cy Young talk to a 7.06 ERA
Martin sat at 8-1 with a 2.04 ERA on May 28, the night he beat Minnesota. Seven quality starts in that stretch. American League Cy Young voters had reason to know his name.
Then the floor gave way. He has gone 1-5 with a 7.06 ERA across his past 13 starts, with only two quality starts in the pile. Three weeks off let the blister close and gave him room to reset. He threw five innings at Triple-A Charlotte last Thursday, allowed one hit, walked one and struck out five.
“That’s the belief for me, my expectation now. That’s who I need to be and that’s who I am,” he told MLB.com. “I’m one of the best pitchers in the league.”
Houston is a hard place to prove it
Martin is 0-1 with a 6.19 ERA in three career starts against the Astros. He faced them on July 24 and took no decision in a 9-5 loss, giving up four runs on six hits over five innings. Hayden Wesneski (4-1, 3.86) goes for Houston, coming off a 5-1 win over the Yankees last Thursday in which he allowed one run on three hits and struck out six over five innings.
Colson Montgomery is carrying Chicago’s bats through the series. The shortstop is 4-for-7 with two doubles, a home run, three walks and three RBIs in the first two games, including a two-run double in the fifth inning on Tuesday.
Both clubs need the game. Chicago (73-65) leads Cleveland by three in the AL Central. Houston (70-69) sits a game up on Texas in the West and added Ronel Blanco and Jake Meyers when rosters expanded on Tuesday.
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