Chicago White Sox: No chance when the bats go quiet

The Chicago White Sox lost two out of three to the Miami Marlins after a strong showing in the first game of the series. The offense let themselves down.

The Chicago White Sox have lost the three-game series to the Miami Marlins after defeat in the series finale on Wednesday night. They lost the game 2-0, and that pretty much tells the entire story of the game right there. The pitching was very good and the offense has just been in a bit of a funk over the last two games.

Reynaldo Lopez is three starts into the post-all-star portion of the schedule and he has kept his word that he will be better. He had the highest ERA in Major League Baseball before the break, but since coming back he has allowed just four earned runs in his three starts back. If he can keep that level of play going forward, he might have a spot in the rotation next season and it won’t be a problem.

The storyline in the first half of the season was that the offense is amazing and the starting pitching outside of Lucas Giolito was subpar. Well, in the second half it has been a bit of the opposite. The starters have a 3.28 ERA in their last six games while the bullpen has 16.1 straight scoreless innings going. The bullpen part isn’t that surprising, but the starters have done well lately. They just haven’t been getting the run support.

The truth is the losses of Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez have really hurt the White Sox offense. It was one thing when only one was missing, but both missing makes it very hard. Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu, and James McCann need some consistent help. When those two come back, you might see a spark in the offensive game of this team.

This was a tough series to swallow for White Sox fans, but they can’t think about it anymore. These are tough circumstances. Everything has to go right for the White Sox to win with this roster, and with some injuries going on right now it makes it really hard. They are not deep enough at the Major League level to deal with injuries properly, but they will be soon enough. This would be less difficult if a fully developed Andrew Vaughn, Luis Robert, and Nick Madrigal were all in the lineup.

Those days are coming soon. Until then, a four-game set with the Minnesota Twins looms large for the Sox. Either this series is going to get them back on track, or it will put them way too far behind for good. The Twins are a really good baseball team and there is a reason they lead the division. They, like the White Sox, are in a bit of a funk as both teams are 3-7 in their last ten games. Something’s gotta give.