Chicago White Sox gift wrap win to Detroit Tigers
The final two innings Sunday was a perfect display of the 2015 Chicago White Sox season. They held a four-run lead, kept pitching in too long, and then underperformed with the game on the line for a 5-4 loss against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
There is some good news though as the White Sox fall to 32-42 on the season, 12.5 games back (as of the end of the White Sox game) of the AL Central leading Kansas City Royals … Monday is an off day, before they face the MLB-best St. Louis Cardinals for two games at Busch Stadium.
The loss sends the White Sox to 14-27 on the road in ’15, a two-game losing streak, and now they are eight games back for the second AL Wild Card spot. There isn’t much of the offseason hope left White Sox VP Kenny Williams wanted White Sox fans to have in 2015.
That hope has turned into more of a nightmare for the White Sox faithful.
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Anyone else tired of this trend of the White Sox trying to say all the right things, but ultimately giving the impression they are not bothered by all the losing for the past three seasons?
Chicago’s final two innings weren’t very positive as Jeff Samardzija had a very solid day ruined by staying in the game a little too long than he should. Plus the bullpen didn’t help matters either.
Samardzija who didn’t allow a run in the first seven innings hit Ian Kinsler with the bases full to score James McCann for the Tigers’ first run in the eighth. That was later followed with a three-run double by Victor Martinez, scoring Jose Iglesias, Anthony Gose and Kinsler for the 4-4 score.
Jun 28, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija (29) pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The White Sox righty finished with a no-decision after 7.1 innings of work. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and three walks. Samardzija struck out four, with his ERA moving to 4.56 on the season. He deserved a better outcome than what his final line showed.
In the bottom of the ninth McCann came back to the plate and homered off reliever Zach Putnam for the one-run loss. With the loss, Putnam is now 1-3 on the season. The win went to Detroit reliever Joakim Soria.
Looking at the scoring of the White Sox, they had two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth. In the fourth Avisail Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to score Jose Abreu, and later in the inning Melky Cabrera hit a solo home run off David Price for a 2-0 lead.
Cabrera led the White Sox at 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. In all the White Sox totaled eight hits and no walks.
The sixth saw Garcia gain his second RBI with a base hit to right field, scoring Adam Eaton. Adam LaRoche later had a sacrifice fly to score Abreu for what was then a 4-0 advantage.
All four White Sox runs were off Price, who pitched six innings. In that time frame he also allowed four earned runs on six hits and no walks. Price (2.62 ERA) struck out five.
Sunday was another White Sox loss that should have been a victory, but giving games away has seem to become the norm this season. Everything seems to be the same on a daily basis for the ball club, with little change coming.
Monday is an off day for the White Sox, until the aforementioned two-games at St. Louis, with the Cardinals having 50 wins. On Tuesday, June 30 it will be Chicago sending Chris Sale (6-4, 3.02 ERA) to the mound against Lance Lynn of the Cardinals (5-4, 2.84).
Wednesday will be the White Sox having Jose Quintana (3-7, 3.95 ERA) against a TBD pitcher for St. Louis. Both games have a 7:15 CT start.
Next: Should the White Sox just give up?