The Chicago White Sox season has been one of the record books and not for the right reasons. They have lost 120 games this season, tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season from post-1900 in the MLB era. They currently boast the worst winning percentage (.231) in the Modern Era and could (or likely will) move into the sole spot for the most losses with six games left to go against the Los Angeles Angels (x3) and Detroit Tigers (x3).

While the season has gone awry for the White Sox, some positive news can be found in the bullpen with the return of Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.). The right-hander has been on the shelf since mid-July with a shoulder strain and has been rehabbing in the minors since August 27th.

The 27-year-old’s first outing back from the IL was on Saturday against the San Diego Padres. He entered the game in the bottom of the sixth with the Padres boasting a 4-0 lead and was needing to shut the door to keep Chicago in the game.

Soroka got right to work, striking out David Peralta on four pitches and god Elias Díaz and Luis Arraez to line out and ground respectively. Although a lengthy at-bat against Arraez pushed Soroka’s pitch count to 15, the Canuck trotted back out for the bottom of the seventh inning slated to face the heart of the Padres order.

A Fernanda Tatis Jr. lead-off double put the pressure on early but Soroka battled back with back-to-back strikeouts of Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado to put two outs on the board. He walked Jackson Merrill on six pitches to put runners on first and second but Soroka was able to escape the inning by getting Xander Bogaerts to pop out to shortstop to finish the outing.

Soroka was traded from the Atlanta Braves this past offseason as part of a package for reliever Aaron Bummer. The right-hander was looking for a spot in the rotation and was hard-pressed to find it in the Braves rotation given their depth. He started the campaign in the White Sox starting corps but struggled out of the gate, eventually being moved to the bullpen in mid-May.

Since being moved to the relief role, Soroka owns a 3.24 ERA through 14 outings with a 1.37 WHIP.