The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox experienced exceptional performances from their starting pitchers early in the season, only to have those efforts go largely unappreciated.
Chicago’s starters opened the season without allowing an earned run in the first four games, but despite this commendable effort, they split those games and then experienced a five-game losing streak as their rotation settled.
The Reds endured three consecutive 1-0 losses from Tuesday through Thursday, a rare occurrence last seen in 1960 with the Philadelphia Phillies during the live ball era. That particular Phillies team finished substantially below .500, primarily due to a weak .239 batting average for the season. Their closely contested 1-0 games were a telling indicator of their batting struggles rather than pitching deficiencies.
Cincinnati, however, maintains optimism, hoping their ailing offense will not overshadow their promising pitching. Right-hander Hunter Greene has shown glimpses of his potential by allowing only three runs across his initial two starts of 2025. Moreover, Brady Singer, who joined Cincinnati from Kansas City during the offseason, impressed with seven innings of one-hit pitching in his debut. Nick Lodolo, a left-hander, has also provided bright spots, conceding just two earned runs over 12 2/3 innings.
Although the Reds were blanked in three consecutive matchups against Texas and Milwaukee, this came after an offensive explosion with Cincinnati posting a commanding 14 runs against the Rangers. They also managed an 11-7 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday.
The White Sox face a more daunting road ahead. Although they had notable highlights en route to a 121-loss season last year, departures of players like Erick Fedde and Garrett Crochet—traded to St. Louis and Boston, respectively—created noticeable gaps. Despite early success in their rotation’s first pass, Chicago’s reality has since shifted harshly, surrendering 32 runs over their past five matches.
An unexpected source of strong pitching figures can be found with Colorado, whose starters have recorded a collective 2.61 ERA throughout 48 1/3 innings thus far. Unfortunately for the Rockies, their offensive production has been paltry—only 18 runs in their initial eight games, culminating in seven losses. The notorious thin air at Coors Field still looms, despite starting the season with seven away games in Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.
Even when Colorado began their home series against the Athletics, the starters managed five innings per game, finally finding some offensive rhythm in a 12-5 home victory on Sunday.
For the Athletics, their first home series in the Sacramento area was a deflating experience. Swept by the Chicago Cubs, they were outscored by a staggering 35-9. Not since their days representing Philadelphia in 1922 had the Athletics allowed so many runs—31 hits—over their first trio of home games.
In a momentous pitching performance, Nathan Eovaldi claimed the first complete game of the season, securing a 1-0 victory for the Rangers against Cincinnati on Tuesday night. The last Texas pitcher to achieve this milestone, aside from Eovaldi, was Jon Gray in 2023.
Highlighting a remarkable debut, MartÃn Pérez delivered six hitless innings for the White Sox on Monday against Minnesota, striking out nine in a 9-0 triumph.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros made a thrilling comeback. They overcame a daunting 7-1 deficit against Minnesota on Sunday, eventually tying the game via a two-run homer by Yordan Alvarez in the ninth inning. Houston went on to win 9-7 in extra innings. At one point, the Twins had a whopping 97.9% probability of winning according to Baseball Savant.