The left-field bullpen feels a little bit different. The walk from the mound is the other way. Playing at Truist Park in a visiting uniform is a new experience for White Sox reliever Touki Toussaint, but the view towards home plate is still one he enjoys.
“Honestly, it’s surreal,” Toussaint said. “I grew up playing here, so (it was) a special moment.”
Toussaint, who played for the Braves from 2018-2021, made his return Friday. Called in to relieve struggling starter Michael Kopech in the first inning, Toussaint pitched 5 1/3 innings and held the Braves to just one run in an eventual 9-0 loss. He struck out four, walked four, and gave much-needed length to the White Sox in the first of a three-game series.
Toussaint is a Florida native, but Truist Park feels like home to him. He appeared in 49 games over four seasons with the Braves, including 10 starts for the World Series winners in 2021. He spent three more years in the minors. He had 16 tickets in his name for Friday’s homecoming, and watched the postgame fireworks with family and friends.
“I’d been with the Braves for seven years, so I made friends and stuff around here,” Toussaint said. “I went to say hello to them.”
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Pitching against the Braves is an unenviable task, let alone coming in in the first inning down four with two runners on base. Toussaint faced an added challenge, as he stared down many ex-teammates.
“It’s pretty cool,” Toussaint said. “We used to talk about it. It’s a cool moment. I just took it all in, and I had to do my job, I couldn’t worry about who’s my friend and who’s not.”
He was able to keep those friends off balance with off-speed pitches. Toussaint threw 97 pitches, including 35 curveballs and 20 splitters. He struggled with fastball command, but did enough to keep the White Sox in the game.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol was thankful for Toussaint’s performance. Chicago claimed Toussaint off waivers from the Guardians on June 20, and Grifol said he can already tell it was a good pick up.
“(His performance) was critical,” Grifol said. “It saved our bullpen. He threw 100 pitches against a good team, and actually kept us 4-0 for a while. … He did a really good job.”
Toussaint was designated for assignment by the Braves on July 2, 2022, and traded to the Angels the next day. Since then, he’s bounced around, finishing the season with Los Angeles and starting this season in Cleveland. He spent most of the year in Triple-A Columbus, but was called up by the Guardians for a start on June 17. He was designated for assignment the next day, and picked up by the White Sox three days later.
He’s found early success on the South Side of Chicago. In his first five appearances with his new team, he has a 3.10 ERA. Toussaint pitched middle innings in his first two games and started the third and fourth. He was not phased by coming out of the bullpen in the first inning.
“That’s been my role,” Toussaint said. “Come in early, go as long as you can. Honestly, I just had to go out there, do my job, give the team a chance to win and see how long I can go.”
