After solid stretch, Nova hits snag against Jays

CHICAGO -- If two things have eluded White Sox starting pitchers in 2019, they've been health and consistency.

Except for Lucas Giolito, it has been a battle for Sox starters to find a groove, and Friday night’s 10-2 loss to the Blue Jays was no exception.

Iván Nova came into Friday’s outing looking to do something he hadn’t done since 2015: win three consecutive starts. Unfortunately for Nova, he was unable to replicate the success he had against Blue Jays his last time facing them.

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During his start against Toronto on May 11, if Nova missed his spot, he missed off the plate. But tonight, he missed in the zone. As a pitcher that stays around the plate and doesn’t nibble, location is vital, and the Blue Jays made the Sox right-hander pay for it.

“I didn’t have command of any of my pitches. I couldn’t throw my curveball for a strike. My slider didn’t do anything, couldn’t command the changeup,” Nova said. “I missed my command today. I was walking people, falling behind guys. I paid the price.”

Toronto touched Nova up for a season-high tying nine runs (eight earned) with the help of home runs by Justin Smoak, Danny Jansen and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before being pulled from the game in the fourth inning.

Nova finished his start tossing just three-plus innings in the loss, allowing on eight hits and four walks with just one strikeout. Of the 10 home runs Nova has allowed this year, they’ve come in bunches, with seven coming in two of his nine starts.

“I’ve been trying to keep the ball in the park. It’s been really tough,” Nova said.

It was also Nova’s fifth start allowing five runs or more, the most by any Sox starter.

“I was actually sitting talking to [pitching coach Don Cooper] about his outing in the dugout. His strike-to-ball ratio was good, it was the quality of strikes he was throwing,” said manager Rick Renteria. “[The Blue Jays were] obviously getting some pitches that they could drive, and they ended up getting to them and putting some points on the board."

“Execution: It's the bottom line. … His outings that have been good, he's obviously executed very well, he's hit his spots, the pitch sequence has been good. I think today, as [Cooper] was saying, his pitches were strikes but they just weren't quality strikes."

The bigger picture for the White Sox starting rotation comes down to being able to give the team a chance, and the rotation’s inconsistencies have made the recent run of injuries loom even larger.

Losing starter Carlos Rodon to Tommy John surgery, coupled with Manny Banuelos being put on the 10-day injured list Friday with a left shoulder strain, puts an onus on not only Nova but the rest of the rotation to find more consistency and eat more innings.

“I think that he's actually given us a couple starts that were really, really good, and today wasn't one of them,” Renteria said. “We'll get back to it, and hopefully, the next one will be a good one."