The final score will suggest that the White Sox ended up on the wrong side of a respectably contested game.
Your experience watching the White Sox over the first 146 games of this season should tell you to never let your guard down.
The White Sox sure did. Twice. The Guardians tagged Davis Martin for five runs over three innings, and all were scored in unflattering fashions: a two-run infield single by Lane Thomas, a homer by a ninth-hitting catcher with a .409 OPS, and another two-run infield single by Lane Thomas. It's like the Sox wanted to help all the national baseball reporters who are embarking on a disaster tourism junket get caught up as quickly as possible.
The Austin Hedges solo shot, via a Martin backup cutter that wound up in the White Sox bullpen, was by far the least embarrassing, because every MLB hitter besides Chuckie Robinson* stands a chance of homering in any plate appearance.
The infield singles were equally humiliating. With runners on second and third and two outs in the first, Thomas hit a chopper to Miguel Vargas, whose best attempt was just late getting Thomas at first. The trailing runner, José Ramírez, never stopped running as Vargas went about his business. Had Vargas been willing to concede the run, he would've been able to limit the damage by having Ramírez hung up between third and home. Had Andrew Vaughn not been so committed to the stretch, he might've had a chance to regroup and get Ramírez at home. Neither happened, and a potential third out instead turned into a 2-0 deficit.
Two innings later, under nearly identical circumstances, Thomas hit a grounder to the right side. Lenyn Sosa stumbled in his attempt to smother the ball, costing him a half-second he didn't have, and even though Vaughn was more aware of the possibility of the trailing runner continuing home, he wasn't able to make the precise throw needed to get the third out at the plate. The only difference was that Andrés Giménez was the runner, not Ramírez. (The White Sox should remember these plays as they weigh the options of moving on from a sub-6-foot first baseman.)
Those miscues provided all the runs Cleveland needed to secure the sweep and send the White Sox to a record 15th consecutive home loss.
The White Sox offense was able to make a game of it. They loaded the bases on a single, an error and a single, and they managed to get all the runs to cross, even though Vaughn spotted Matthew Boyd an out with a flyout to right. Sosa shot a single up the middle to put the Sox on the board.
Perhaps because Sosa gives so many runs away, Boyd tried picking him off first with the bases loaded. The only problem was that Josh Naylor wasn't holding him on, nor did he go to first base for the throw behind. Boyd had to settle for a pump fake, which is a balk that made it a 5-2 game. With the double play out of order, Vargas' chopper to short resulted in a run-scoring groundout, and then Dominic Fletcher's comebacker found Boyd's wrist and fell safely in no-man's land for an RBI infield single, making it a one-run game.
The White Sox never closed the last mile, despite a stout effort from the White Sox bullpen. Tasked with covering six innings, Fraser Ellard stranded two of Matt Foster's runners to get through a scoreless fourth, and they posted zeroes all the way until the eighth, when Chad Kuhl gave up a pair of one-out singles to put runners on the corners, and then a chopper to first that developed too slowly for anything beyond a 3-unassisted.
The Sox offense couldn't take advantage, coming up empty in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position from the fourth inning onward. It didn't help that they struck out 18 times, a season high in nine-inning games.
Bullet points:
*The error column shows the Guardians committing three and the White Sox zero. Again, don't trust the numbers.
*Fletcher came through with another plus play in right field when he cut off Giménez's drive in the gap, spun and fired an on-target throw to second. It was late, except Giménez came in too hot with his dive, and Jake Amaya kept the tag on to steal an out.
*Bryan Ramos prevented Boyd from an immaculate inning by fouling back an 0-2 fastball with two outs in the first. The Guardians dugout reacted in agony, and Ramos ended up smashing a single to center on a changeup that stayed up.
*The Chuckie Robinson line is bait, given that Fletcher and Nicky Lopez disrupted my last attempt to write about homerless White Sox.
*Jerry Reinsdorf issued a statement in response to all of the inquiries from national outlets. It boils down to "I have concepts of a plan."
“Everyone in this organization is extremely unhappy with the results of this season, that goes without saying. This year has been very painful for all, especially our fans. We did not arrive here overnight, and solutions won’t happen overnight either. Going back to last year, we have made difficult decisions and changes to begin building a foundation for future success. What has impressed me is how our players and staff have continued to work and bring a professional attitude to the ballpark each day despite a historically difficult season. No one is happy with the results, but I commend the continued effort."
“I expect to have more to say at the end of the season.”
