2 White Sox to blame for losing the Royals series, 1 to thank for avoiding the sweep
The Chicago White Sox lost to the Kansas City Royals again. It was a very tough series for them as it killed any momentum that they had after the start of May.
They came in winners of two straight series but now lost a four-game series to the Royals. It is a disaster to see them lose to a team like that.
We had a feeling that the Chicago White Sox were equally as bad as the Royals but this bad series confirmed it. Chicago is the "easy team" on everyone's schedule just as much as Kansas City.
There are a lot of people on the team that deserve blame for this disaster of a 2023 season. For this series, there are a few players to blame for the series loss. There is also one player that deserves credit because it would have been a sweep without him.
Player 1 to blame: Lance Lynn
Lance Lynn was terrible in his start this series for the Chicago White Sox.
Lance Lynn made a start in game three of this series. He was awful which pretty much confirmed what some people were worried about.
Lynn looks like a player that is to the point of no return. We see this type of decline in pitchers all the time but Lynn's hit us like a truck.
He just isn't effective at all anymore. Kansas City was up 4-0 after the first inning of his start. He ended up giving up seven total runs which is becoming a regularity for him.
Yes, the offense only scored one run but the wind was out of the sails before the game even really got going and it is largely because of Lynn's pitching.
Player 2 to blame: Reynaldo Lopez
Reynaldo Lopez allowed the KC Royals to win the series via a walk-off.
The Kansas City Royals had a 3-1 lead over the Chicago White Sox in the fourth game but they let Chicago come back and tie it up.
In the bottom of the ninth, however, Reynaldo Lopez came in to pitch to try and force extra innings. Instead, he allowed a run just as he has been doing all season long.
The Royals earned the walk-off win thanks to this. Now, although they almost made the comeback to tie the series, the White Sox get to go home knowing they lost a big one to a very bad team.
Well, they are equally as bad and Reynaldo Lopez's inability to be effective is a big reason why. We hope that he figures it out when he isn't used as a closer anymore but this year just hasn't been it for him up to this point.
Player to thank for avoiding a sweep: Lucas Giolito
Lucas Giolito did his job to help the Chicago White Sox not get swept.
The Chicago White Sox had Lucas Giolito on the mound in the second game of this series. They won the game by a final score of 4-2.
Giolito did his job as he went 6.0 inning strong with only two earned runs allowed on five hits. He also had nine strikeouts. He got the bullpen the ball with a chance to hold on and win.
We didn't know it at the time but that kept the White Sox from getting swept. Who knows what happens if they lose this game?
Giolito had a bad 2022 season but he has bounced back nicely at this point in 2023. Lately, he has been the ace of the staff and it is awesome to see.
Now, they will welcome the defending World Series champion Houston Astros to Chicago. If they play as poorly as they did in this series against the Royals, they will certainly get swept this time.
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