The base runners were there. The result? Same old story.
White Sox lose 5-3 to the Orioles, swept again, because of course they are. That’s 0-for-6 in games decided by three runs or less. Close games? Not even suspenseful anymore. Just pencil in the L and move on.
Sean Burke did his best Houdini act, chewing through 23 pitches in a clean first. More traffic in the second — plunked a guy, walked another, but somehow left them both standing. It was ugly, but it kept the Sox in it.
For a hot second, the
bats woke up in the second. Colson Montgomery whiffed, but Andrew Benintendi smoked a triple, Dustin Harris knocked him in, swiped a bag, and scored on Luisangel Acuña’s single. With the bases loaded and one out, a double play killed the rally. They scored two runs, but you could already feel the missed chance hanging in the air.
Naturally, the lead vanished. Burke handed out a free pass to Gunnar Henderson; Tyler Ward doubled him home; wild pitch; groundout; tie game. Blink, and the lead’s gone.
The South Siders snatched the lead back in the fifth, and it was pure White Sox. Walk, walk, another walk, bases loaded. Then Rutschman lobs one back to the mound, Bradish boots it, and Meidroth sneaks home. Free run, thank you very much. Didn’t matter. The lead was gone before you could even enjoy it.
Burke’s afternoon: five innings, two runs, nothing flashy, but he did his job. Then, the bullpen comes in, and the lead walks out the door.
Lucas Sims took a winnable spot and set it on fire with a double, single, walk, and bases loaded. Will Venable yanked him for Bryan Hudson, but it was already unraveling. Passed ball, tie game. Sac fly, Orioles up for good.
The Sox had their chances, but don’t they always? Traffic in the sixth and seventh, Vargas bunts his way on, Montgomery takes one for the team, but the bats go silent. Eighth inning? Three up, three down. Just enough left for one last cruel tease in the ninth.
Tyler Schweitzer made his debut and looked a little jittery, but he flashed something. Then, back-to-back doubles in the ninth for an insurance run that nobody needed but everyone expected.
Down two in the ninth, the Sox tease us with a pulse. Tristan Peters walks, Miguel Vargas walks, tying run up in Montgomery. You already know: soft roller, game over. Going 3-for-11 with RISP and striking out 12 times usually isn’t going to go well. And it didn’t.
The White Sox are now 4-8, and honestly, that feels generous. The problems aren’t rocket science as the bullpen coughs up leads, the lineup leaves runners everywhere, and close games are just a formality. Remember when they were 4-5? Feels like ancient history.
No day off tomorrow as the team heads to Kansas City for a four-game trip. The boys haven’t won on the Royals’ home turf in I don’t know, 100 years? It will be Anthony Kay against Seth Lugo to kick off the series at 6:40 p.m. CST. See you then!
