Earl Weaver, one of the earliest enemies of the bunt, said that if you play for one run, that's usually all you'll get.
That's what happened tonight in Toronto, and the White Sox came up one run short in the series-opening loss to the Blue Jays.
When Rick Renteria bunted with men on first and second and nobody out while trailing by two against Cleveland on Wednesday and was rewarded with a game-tying single by Ryan Cordell, it seemed like it would only encourage his bad bunting habits.
Sure enough, after Tim Anderson beat out an infield single and Charlie Tilson dumped a base hit to left to start the seventh tonight, Renteria called for Cordell to bunt them over. Cordell did the job asked of him, fending off an inside fastball and moving up both runners. Alas, they only had two more outs to play with, and the next two batters made them. One run crossed when Leury Garcia grounded out to second, but Yoan Moncada struck out swinging to end the threat, and those were the first two of eight consecutive Sox hitters retired by the Toronto bullpen to end the game. Tilson's bid to tie the game with the last at-bat died on the warning track in left center.
I could be more specific, because the Blue Jays won an honest-to-goodness bullpen day. Charlie Montoya used Daniel Hudson for the first inning only en route to seven pitchers over nine, and it did the job. Hudson gave up back-to-back doubles to Moncada and Jose Abreu for a quick 1-0 White Sox lead, but the Blue Jays took Dylan Covey deep in each of the first two innings and never looked back.
Tonight's Covey start provided the evidence for the argument I've been making on the podcast stumping for the Sox to try the opener. He seems like somebody well-suited to come in for the second inning, face a lineup a couple times and try to get the game through six, but you shouldn't have him face the top of the order more than he has to.
Sure enough, he issued a pair of two-out walks before Randal Grichuk took him deep for a three-run shot in the first inning. Covey gave up a Teoscar Hernandez solo shot to start the second before he and the Sox bullpen settled in, but Toronto had the four runs it needed.
Bullet points:
*Tim Anderson answered the solo shot by his passive-aggressive critic with a no-doubter in the fifth inning, his seventh of the season.
*The White Sox were just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, but the Blue Jays were only 1-for-5 themselves.
*Moncada had an active day, going 1-for-3 with the double, a walk and two stolen bases. He also made a couple of picks on tricky hops off the turf.
*Tilson passed a test in center, flagging down six flies and line drives, and retrieving a double off the wall with enough speed to keep a runner from scoring from first.
*Nicky Delmonico dropped a fly ball as he braced for contact with the side wall in left field. It was ruled a double, but it didn't come home.
Record: 16-21 | Box score | Highlights
