Evan Marshall got some of the biggest outs of 2020 in a loaded Chicago White Sox bullpen: ‘I love those moments’
Evan Marshall got one of the biggest outs of the 2020 season for the Chicago White Sox.
The reliever entered in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 14 at Guaranteed Rate Field. It was the first game of a pivotal four-game series.
The bases were loaded with two outs. The score was tied 1-1.
And he was facing dangerous slugger Nelson Cruz.
Marshall got ahead in the count 1-2. Cruz fouled off a changeup. Marshall threw another one and got Cruz to swing and miss to end the inning.
“One of the best baseball experiences in my career,” Marshall said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I love those moments. We don’t always want to have to face Nelson Cruz with the bases loaded, but in that instance, I was able to get the best of him.
“He’s a hell of a player, and if we do that 100 times, you never know how it’s going to go. But in that instance, I was able to get him and do something great for the team.”
The Sox went on to win 3-1, setting a tone for the series. They won three of four and clinched a playoff spot in the series finale Sept. 17.
“We really liked that feeling,” Marshall said of winning in a big-game atmosphere, “and we’re chasing after that again for sure.”
Marshall and the Sox are putting in the work again this spring.
The right-hander has been reliable out of the bullpen the last two seasons, and the Sox will continue to count on him this season.
His contributions have not gone unnoticed. During new Sox closer Liam Hendriks’ introductory conference call on Jan. 15, he pointed to Marshall as one of the standouts in the pen, saying he has “done a fantastic job.”
Marshall, 30, went 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA and eight holds in 23 appearances in 2020. He had 30 strikeouts and seven walks in 22 1/4 u2154 innings — a career-best 11.91 strikeouts per nine innings — and limited opponents to a .198 average (17-for-86), including .119 (5-for-42) against left-handed hitters.
“I had a pretty good plan of how to attack them the last two years. I’ve really figured out some good stuff,” Marshall said of facing lefties. “It’s nice to not have lopsided splits because with the three-batter minimum, I’m going to face lefties. And to go out there and attack them with equal success, that’s huge.”
Marshall is 6-3 with a 2.45 ERA, 27 holds and 71 strikeouts in 78 outings in two seasons with the Sox.
He also has had an influence on the team when he’s not on the mound. Reliever Codi Heuer mentioned Marshall and Aaron Bummer as players who helped during his rookie season in 2020.
In preparing for 2021, Marshall said his offseason was about “fine-tuning.”
“I’m not reinventing anything. I didn’t come up with any new pitches or even really new usages of the same pitches,” Marshall said. “It’s all about repeatability and consistency. That’s what we’re always after.
“I’m 30 now. You figure out the arm program, the throwing program and the strength stuff that you need to do in the offseason to make sure that you’re in a good place to help the team come the season. I’ve got that pretty dialed in, so the offseason was great being home with my family. But I definitely got a lot of good work in.”
Marshall is scheduled for his first Cactus League outing Thursday against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz.
And he’s excited to see how the bullpen comes together.
“It’s the most talented group of arms I’ve ever been around, just in one bullpen,” he said. “Hendriks is the top reliever in the game as far as I’m concerned, and to go out and bring him in to an already pretty talented group really sort of cements the commitment that our front office has to this being a window of an opportunity to compete. We know we’re there, we know we’re in it. Now it’s all really up to execution.
“You take Hendriks and drop him into a group with me and Bummer and Heuer and (Matt) Foster and (Jace) Fry and (Garrett) Crochet, a wild card, a lefty that throws 100. It doesn’t matter, if me and Bum throw today, we have no problem having Crochet, Heuer, Foster, whoever takes the ball tomorrow. That’s what the depth is going to allow us to do, to stay fresh.”
