Crushing loss to Red Sox adds insult to (Joey Bart's) injury for burned-out White Sox

If you stayed up and watched the entirety of Thursday’s 4+ hour White Sox series finale against the Red Sox, my heart goes out to you. I was one of the unfortunate souls who watched the game in its entirety. In case you missed it, the White Sox blew five leads, came within one strike of winning twice, used every reliever except Sean Newcomb, and suffered a devastating defeat to complete the sweep in the 13th inning. To make matters even worse, newly acquired catcher Joey Bart exited the game after getting hit in the hand with a pitch, and the White Sox upgrade at catcher may be short-lived. 

The Boston Red Sox are on a crazy heater. After Thursday’s victory, they’ve won 26 of their last 29 games. They went from firing their manager early in the season to firmly in the mix for a postseason berth in the American League. They’ve been a nightmare matchup for every team over the past two months, and the White Sox had the unfortunate distinction of playing them twice over that span. The White Sox failed to win a game against Boston this year, going 0-6 and being outscored 45-15. It was a crushing loss on Thursday, but with Cleveland losing to the Mets, the White Sox didn’t lose any ground and will enter the weekend with a three-game lead in the Central. The impact of Thursday’s loss, however, goes far beyond the standings. 

The White Sox enter a crucial three-game series against the Guardians this weekend with a bullpen on the fritz. Every reliever except Sean Newcomb pitched on Thursday, and Newcomb pitched more than an inning Wednesday. Pitch counts are certainly a concern, and they’re going to need some help this weekend. Noah Schultz is expected to start Friday night against Cleveland, and he’s failed to reach six innings in all but two of his outings this season. Schultz will also reach his career-high in innings tonight, so it’s unclear how much he has left in the tank.

At this point, I’m not sure how the White Sox even get through this game if it’s a short night for Schultz. They’ll need to make a move to add innings, and unfortunately don’t have a ton of flexibility in the bullpen. Chris Murphy is the only reliever on the roster they could realistically send down. Perhaps they call up someone like David Sandlin, who can provide length out of the bullpen. 

The 13-inning loss wasn't the worst loss for the White Sox on Thursday

Lost in the shuffle of a frustrating defeat is perhaps an even more frustrating development. Joey Bart, who the White Sox acquired in a trade on Monday, exited the game after being hit in the hand by a pitch. The White Sox later confirmed a fracture in his finger. An exact timeline hasn’t been provided, but the White Sox will end up back where they started, with Edgar Quero and Drew Romo behind the plate. The catcher position has been a black hole all season and now that will likely continue longer.

The trade deadline has passed, so the White Sox can no longer seek external assistance on the market. Perhaps a deal with recently released Mitch Garver could be a temporary solution? The hope is still for an early-September return for Kyle Teel, but there are several weeks until that comes to pass. The White Sox simply can’t afford to keep fielding the Quero/Romo tandem until that time. 

As devastating as Thursday was on all fronts, the White Sox are far from finished. They enter the weekend with a division lead and it’s too early to throw in the towel. It’s going to be a tough road to the postseason. The Guardians, Twins, and Tigers are all within striking distance and none of them are going to go away. It’s going to be a dogfight, and the White Sox have a disadvantage in several areas. With 48 games to go, the division race is only going to heat up. The White Sox have a massive series beginning this weekend in Chicago, and they’ll need to shake off Thursday’s struggles and bounce back. The odds are stacked against them, but that’s never mattered before.

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