Before spending much of the previous two seasons rehabbing from his second career Tommy John surgery, and getting acquired via a small minors swap last month, White Sox right-hander Jose Urquidy was a proven playoff performer during the Astros’ contention run.
Three years ago he was pitching in the ALCS, but the 31-year-old has noticed some changes since he was last a big league fixture.
“Hitters are more powerful, pitchers too; throwing a lot of pitches 100 mph,” said Urquidy, who usually sits 93 mph. “I’m just trying to be athletic, with energy, spinning the ball well. That’s something I have to do to survive here.”
So after making his bones with riding four-seamers at the top of the strike zone in his Houston years, Urquidy’s six scoreless frames at Wrigley Field last Wednesday featured plenty of sinkers and changeups to generate more grounders, and a mid-70s curveball that’s a slower change of pace than most hitters ever see these days.
He’s not overpowering, but Urquidy has the most postseason experience of anyone on the young White Sox roster, and his job is just to confuse the timing of opposing hitters. Last week against the Cubs, that went beyond pitch usage to include his pace to the plate.
Quick-pitching, long holds, running the pitch clock down and walking into his delivery, it could all be on the menu when Urquidy next toes the rubber on Monday. But after working years to regain confidence in his surgically-repaired right arm, it’s not about frustrating the opposition, but centering himself.
“If I see I got 14 seconds on me, or 10, or more than that, I have 10 seconds to do whatever I want,” Urquidy said. “I will take my time. I will breathe more. I will check a grip here. I will think what I’m gonna do next.”
Whither Shane Smith?
How has Shane Smith gone from opening day starter to a 5.56 ERA in Triple-A? A hangover from a career-high 146 1/3 innings last year, which he had never previously approached, is part of it. But the Sox don’t think the offseason alterations he made to simplify his delivery have served him well.
“He made some compensations that felt good to him, but I think took away some of the kind of magic elements he had in his delivery, and the variance in his movement, and a lot of the things that allowed him to have that All-Star season last year,” said Sox senior advisor to pitching Brian Bannister. “We were starting to get back to that, and then he was dealing with the shoulder stuff.”
After issuing five free passes on Sunday, Smith has 22 walks in 31 2/3 innings with the Charlotte Knights since returning from a rotation cuff strain last month.
Teel ships out
Kyle Teel will begin a Triple-A rehab assignment Tuesday after testing his left ankle on the basepaths this weekend. Starter-level reps are waiting for him when he returns to Chicago.
“We’ll ease him back, understanding how his season has gone from an injury standpoint,” said bench coach Walker McKinven. “But Kyle’s important. Kyle’s going to play.”
A new king
Carlos Quentin is dethroned. By absorbing a Nolan McLean curveball in the fifth on Sunday, Sam Antonacci set a new White Sox franchise record with 24 hit-by-pitches this season.