Angels struggle, falling to White Sox for 11th season-opening loss in 12 years
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CHICAGO — Sean Burke pitched six sparkling innings and Will Venable got his first win as a big league manager Thursday, directing the Chicago White Sox to an 8-1 victory over the Angels on opening day.
Andrew Benintendi, Lenyn Sosa and Austin Slater homered as Chicago began what it hopes will be a more promising season than a year ago, when it went 41-121 to break the post-1900 major league record for losses.
Venable, 42, stepped into a challenging rebuilding project when he was hired in October. The former big league outfielder was an associate manager for Texas the past two years.
The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros likely will be the teams to beat in the AL West. Even if Mike Trout stays healthy, the Angels’ playoff chances look bleak.
Yusei Kikuchi (0-1) pitched six innings of three-run ball in his Angels debut. The Japanese left-hander signed a $63-million, three-year contract with the Angels in free agency.
The Angels lost on opening day for the 11th time in the last 12 years, including four in a row.
Burke (1-0) yielded three hits, struck out three and walked none. Penn Murfee, Jordan Leasure and Mike Clevinger combined for three scoreless innings before Logan O’Hoppe homered for the Angels against Cam Booser in the ninth.
After Ryan Johnson was hit hard in his big league debut for the Angels, infielder Nicky Lopez got the final out of the eighth in his first game with Los Angeles.
Key moment: With Chicago leading 3-0 in the eighth, Clevinger replaced Leasure with runners at the corners and two outs. The right-hander walked Mike Trout before striking out Jorge Soler, ending the inning.
For an Angels fan, these are the worst of times. In six years in Anaheim, Shohei Ohtani never reached the postseason. In his first year with the Dodgers, Ohtani won the World Series.
Key stat: Kikuchi is one of a major league-record three Japanese-born pitchers who started on opening day this year, joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers and Shota Imanaga of the Cubs.
Up next: Following an off day, right-handers José Soriano and Jonathan Cannon take the mound on Saturday. Soriano made 20 starts and two relief appearances for the Angels last year, going 6-7 with a 3.42 ERA. Cannon had a 4.49 ERA over 124 1/3 innings during his rookie season with Chicago in 2024.
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