ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Civale got a little wild in the right-hander’s first start for the Chicago White Sox two days after he was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Civale walked four of the first seven hitters he faced in a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. The 30-year-old finished with four walks, one off his career high, while allowing six hits and two runs in five innings. He threw 65 strikes and 39 balls. Chicago trailed 2-1 when he was replaced by Dan Altavilla to start the sixth.
“Not the cleanest,” Civale said. “It’s been a whirlwind of a week. First couple of innings, just getting back out there and settling in and getting used to the new team, new catcher and all of the above.”
The White Sox acquired Civale a day after he said he wanted to remain a starter — for the Brewers or another team — following his demotion to the Milwaukee bullpen. The Brewers made the move to clear the way for hard-throwing prospect Jacob Misiorowski to join the rotation.
Civale (1-3) pitched a scoreless first inning despite three walks, thanks in part to Wyatt Langford’s double-play grounder.
The fourth walk ended up costing Civale when Adolis García scored on the first Texas hit — a two-out double from Ezequiel Duran in the second inning.
The Rangers made it 2-0 on Marcus Semien’s sacrifice fly in the fifth, when Civale allowed three hits but struck out Jake Burger to end the inning with runners at second and third.
“Credit to him for grinding through that and getting through five innings,” said manager Will Venable, who was ejected after a couple of close calls didn’t go Civale’s way in the first inning. “Not his sharpest day, but with these veteran guys that have experience, they’re able to navigate tough situations.”
All 123 of Civale’s regular-season appearances in the major leagues have been starts. This is the third consecutive year he has been part of a midseason trade. Milwaukee got him from Tampa Bay last year. The Rays acquired him from Cleveland in 2023.
“It never gets easier,” Civale said. “There’s comfort in experience that you have, but every time it’s new and it’s a different challenge in itself. You’re trying to make that adjustment as quick as you can. Was out there trying to compete and I wasn’t filling up the zone like I would have liked to.”
Milwaukee sent Civale, who is eligible for free agency after this season, to the White Sox for first baseman Andrew Vaughn and $807,000 in cash.
Civale said he had no issues with anybody in the Brewers clubhouse, or the coaches there. He just wanted to remain a starter, like he had also been for all 86 of his minor-league appearances.
The outing against Texas lowered Civale’s ERA to 4.67 this season, when he is making $8 million. He has allowed nine runs over 24 innings in five starts since a stint on injured list with a strained left hamstring.
Civale threw just six of his first 19 pitches for strikes, and it was during that stretch that home plate umpire Marvin Hudson, the crew chief, gestured into the Chicago dugout. Moments later, he ejected Venable.
The second career ejection for Venable, a first-year manager, came on Father’s Day. The first was on Mother’s Day. Venable was a bit wide-eyed when that was pointed out to him.
“I was unaware of that,” Venable said. “But that is an interesting coincidence.”