GLENDALE, Ariz. — One day later, a buzz lingered in White Sox camp.
Making his first start Tuesday since he was at Tennessee, left-hander Garrett Crochet pitched 1⅔ scoreless innings against the Dodgers, striking out Shohei Ohtani and Jason Heyward and allowing two singles.
That he was throwing so hard with command against one of baseball’s best lineups was an early-spring highlight for the Sox.
“He came out throwing 97 to 100 [mph],” manager Pedro Grifol said Wednesday. “It wasn’t a big, big stage, but it was OK or spring training, right? Ohtani’s debut.
‘‘I thought he commanded the strike zone. The most important thing for me is he was all over that plate with plus-plus stuff.”
How the spring unfolds and ends up for Crochet, who is being stretched out as a starter while being closely monitored because of his limited innings the last two seasons, remains to be seen.
“We have his innings mapped out, and we are going to keep stretching him out, and we don’t have to make that decision yet,” Grifol said. “His plan is to be a starter, so we’ll make that decision when we have to.”
Around the Horn
The newest Sox player isn’t so new. Left-hander Bailey Horn, acquired Tuesday in a trade with the Cubs for Double-A right-hander Matthew Thompson, was drafted by the team in the fifth round out of Auburn in 2020.
The Sox swapped him for right-hander Ryan Tepera during their 2021 American League Central title year. And now he’s coming back to a place he calls home.
“Obviously, it was an important move for them,” Horn, 26, said Wednesday, his first day in Sox camp. “They were pushing for the playoffs. I understand it from that aspect. Things like that happen. Fortunate to be traded back.”
Horn pitched a scoreless inning against the Sox on Friday, the first day of the Cactus League season.
“That was funny,” Horn said. “Different perspective there. And then a few days later to be traded back was kind of cool. Didn’t see it coming, but I’m super-happy to be back.”
Horn had a combined 4.21 ERA in 62 innings between Double-A and Triple-A for the Cubs last season, striking out 78 and walking 34.
For starters
Michael Kopech starts Friday at the Cubs and Dylan Cease on Saturday at the Rangers in the first circuit of regular rotation pitchers.
Michael Soroka and Chris Flexen, good bets to open the season in the rotation, threw good bullpen sessions Wednesday that left Grifol “really excited.”
“Soroka was really throwing the ball good, really good,” Grifol said. “He had a good two-seamer. Flexen showed some pretty good stuff.”
Paul ball
Shortstop Paul DeJong hit 25 home runs in his 2017 debut with the Cardinals, 19 the next year and 30 more in 2019, so going deep is nothing new for the 2019 All-Star.
But he has hit only 42 over the last four seasons, which is one reason why the Sox were able to sign him for the affordable price of $1.75 million.
Discussing a homer against Dodgers right-hander Michael Grove in his third spring game brought a big smile to his face the next day.
“It was good to get one like that,” DeJong said. “Hanging slider, exactly what I want to do with that pitch. So I was pretty happy about that.”
Padres 3, White Sox 1
The Sox are 1-5 in Cactus League games after their fourth straight loss, managing four hits and committing two errors in Glendale. Max Stassi tripled, and Gavin Sheets doubled.
• Colson Montgomery, aiming to prove his future is at shortstop, made a fielding error on a ground ball and got clipped (unharmed) by a throw from the outfield that glanced off second baseman Zach Remillard. Montgomery was 0-for-1 with a swinging strikeout and was caught stealing.
• Davis Martin, who hopes to be pitching by midseason as he returns from Tommy John surgery, had his second bullpen session Monday, throwing 20 pitches in the 84-86 mph range. Martin made nine starts and had a 4.83 ERA in 14 games in 2022, proving to be a serviceable starter.
• On deck: Royals at Sox (split squad), 2:10 p.m. Thursday, Glendale, Jordan Lyles vs. Jake Woodford. Sox at Mariners (SS), 2:05 p.m. Wednesday, Peoria, Jared Shuster vs. Bryce Miller.
