If you heard that the White Sox let the go-ahead run cross the plate in the 10th inning because the catcher let a head-high sinker glance off his mitt for a passed ball with two outs, you'd probably assume Yasmani Grandal was behind the plate.
And you'd be wrong. Instead, it was Reese McGuire who couldn't catch an ordinary miss with the bases loaded, after Aaron Bummer had alternated walks and strikeouts in his second inning of work. Manfred Man Whit Merrifield crossed the plate, a Kyle Isbel single drove him two more, and the Royals were able to seize the series after their initial lead slipped away.
Asking for a second inning from Bummer was probably too much given his season to date. He overcame his usual control problems in the ninth by erasing the leadoff man he plunked with a pair of grounders, the second one resulting in a double play that gave the White Sox a chance for their first walk-off of the season. Instead, Andrew Vaughn was the only batter to reach base in either of the last two innings via a one-out walk that didn't go anywhere.
Bummer was a sensible choice to start the 10th, what with Andrew Benintendi coming to the plate, but he walked Benintendi, and then later gave up the single to lefty Kyle Isbel, defeating the purpose of the matchup. Then again, there weren't any other great options, as José Ruiz and Tanner Banks preceded Bummer in the game, while Kendall Graveman was unavailable and Liam Hendriks is still dealing with a bad back.
Besides, it's hard to win while scoring two runs. Brad Keller limited the White Sox to two singles and a Leury García solo shot in the sixth inning, and while the Sox were able to tie the game in the eighth off Josh Staumont, it came at a cost. Yasmani Grandal led off with a single, after which Tony La Russa pinch-ran Josh Harrison in his place. Harrison scored 90 feet at a time -- wild pitch, single, sac fly -- and given the quality of Benintendi's throw from left field, Grandal could have done the same thing.
Alas, when his place in the order came around in the 10th, Harrison hit instead, and struck out.
The White Sox managed just five hits and a walk, whereas the Royals tallied six hits, eight walks and a hit batter. They had chances early, as it took Keller a couple innings to settle in, but once Keller stopped falling behind in the count, the Sox made life rather easy for him. García's homer on a high sinker was the only thing that prevented Keller from facing the minimum over seven innings, as the other two singles were erased by double plays.
Michael Kopech had to work harder over five innings, as he appeared to have less than his best stuff. He issued four walks over five innings, including a pair of free passes to Nicky Lopez that led to single runs in the first and fifth innings. Benintendi drove both of those runs home, dropping a double down the left-field line, then hitting a sac fly in the same direction.
Kopech would tell you he could pitch better, but he, Banks, Ruiz and Bummer held the Royals to two runs over nine innings, so the results served the purpose. The offense just isn't doing the same.
Bullet points:
*McGuire had a home-run ball knocked down by the wind, but Bobby Witt Jr. also was denied a long ball by 2022 conditions.
*Salvador Perez went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, and 0-for-13 with eight strikeouts for the series.
*The White Sox are now 3-9 against the AL Central.
