Tonight summed up the state of Tim Anderson's game in a funhouse mirror.
In the field, he committed an inexplicable error with two outs that allowed an unearned run to score. It wasn't a challenging play. He charged a routine Randal Grichuk two-hopper, but he awkwardly tried to glove it with the open side down, and it clanged away to extend an inning. It's his first error in the books, but it's his second straight night with a misplay, and it allowed the Blue Jays to take a 3-1 lead after three.
At the plate? Anderson went 3-for-4 with a homer, two stolen bases and three runs scored. He put together a particularly thrilling sequence in the sixth inning, reaching with a sharp single, stealing second, stealing third and scoring on an Adam Engel groundout.
The two errors are maddening. The three homers and three stolen bases in four games is exciting. All in all, that kind of offense will buy time for his defense, and these are the kinds of things a White Sox fan can take into consideration from one day to another.
The pitching? Forget about that immediately.
Miguel Gonzalez was touched up for six runs over five innings, yet the following two pitchers left with higher ERAs. Hector Santiago and Gregory Infante combined to allow seven eighth-inning runs while allowing just two outs.
Gonzalez's line -- 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K -- could have been better, as Anderson's error led to an unearned run, and Engel couldn't quite seal the deal on a diving attempt short of full extension. It shouldn't have been much better, because Gonzalez gave up two homers and four other extra-base hits.
Santiago did his thing for two innings, but Renteria couldn't get a third inning out of him. Infante was the one who was truly torched, retiring just one of the six batters he faced. Juan Minaya had to come in to finish the inning, but even he allowed a couple of inherited runners to score.
The White Sox offense had moments, scattering their five runs across five innings. They just came up short with their counterpunches, which will probably be a theme of the season. While they struck out plenty against J.A. Happ early, they started putting together better at-bats throughout the night. Avi Garcia topped them all with a fifth-inning solo shot that measured 481 feet, a White Sox record in three-plus years of Statcast. However, Yolmer Sanchez made it seem a little less impressive by going 442 feet to right.
The Sox just left a few opportunities on the table. In the second inning, the Sox had runners on the corners with one out after Delmonico's RBI single, but Yoan Moncada and Garcia struck out on six pitches apiece. They had the same situation in the seventh after Jose Abreu first-to-thirded Moncada with a single, but Matt Davidson's weak bouncer to the mound resulted in Moncada out at the plate, and Welington Castillo grounded out.
Still, even if they cashed in all the runners they stranded, they would have lost by a run. Then that Anderson error would have counted.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and 2-for-19 over their first two games this series.
*Davidson had the roughest night, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and six stranded. The three Ks were all backwards. Frustration mounted, and for good reason: Two of them were the most borderline of calls, and the last one wasn't even close.
*Moncada and Delmonico joined Davidson with three strikeouts, and Tyler Saladino struck out in his first two at-bats of the season.
Record: 2-2 | Box score
