The Chicago White Sox headed to Atlanta this week after losing five of six games to division rivals Kansas City and Detroit.
Despite some competitive games, the scorching hot start to the second half had seemingly worn off, and the team was scuffling. The team arrived in Atlanta to play a talented-but-underachieving Braves team and hoping to right the ship.
Everything was going according to plan in Monday’s series opener. The White Sox bats came out hot and knocked Atlanta starter Spencer Strider out of the game in the fourth inning. By the sixth, the Sox held a 10-1 lead, and it felt out of reach for the Braves. Atlanta put up a four spot in the sixth, but the White Sox responded with three more, and took a 13-5 lead into the 8th. Atlanta kept crawling back, however, putting up four more run in the eighth, and even brought the tying run to the plate a half-inning after putting a position player on the mound.
Fortunately, White Sox reliever Jordan Leasure was able to put out the fire, and the White Sox held on to win.
White Sox blow a 10-4 lead in Atlanta
With a chance to win the series on Tuesday, the White Sox staked themselves to a big lead once again. The bats exploded for another 10 runs, and the Sox took a 10-4 lead into the 7th.
Shane Smith set his career high with 101 pitches to get the White Sox through 6 innings, and Will Venable called on his bullpen once again. This time, however, they wouldn’t be as fortunate.
The combination of Tyler Gilbert and Elvis Peguero allowed five runs in the 7th innings, and Tyler Alexander followed it up by allowing two more in the 8th. Just like that, Atlanta had the lead. The White Sox couldn’t do much against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias, and Atlanta claimed a massive comeback victory.
As White Sox announcer John Schriffen ironically pointed out just a few innings earlier, Tuesday’s loss was the first time all year that the White Sox have scored at least seven runs in a game and lost. They were the only team in baseball undefeated in that scenario until this week.
Things got even worse on Wednesday night
Scoring 10 runs and having a six-run lead into the seventh inning and not winning is a brutal gut punch. But for me, Wednesday’s finale where the White Sox mustered just four singles and lost 1-0, is a far more frustrating defeat.
Tyler Gilbert, Elvis Peguero, and Tyler Alexander blowing a game where the White Sox had eight combined hits from Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth, Brooks Baldwin, and Lenyn Sosa is far less upsetting than a game where the aforementioned group, plus Colson Montgomery, combined to go 1-16 with six strikeouts.
At this stage in the season, with the White Sox well out of playoff contention, the development and play of young players is far more important than the result of the game.
The White Sox scored a combined five runs in their three-game sweep at the hands of the Royals, and nine of the 10 runs scored in the Tigers series were in one game. It’s been a concerning development for the Sox over the past couple weeks, and the red hot offense of the early second half seems to have cooled.
Multiple double-digit scoring games in Atlanta was certainly a step in the right direction, but Wednesday’s four-single performance was all-too familiar and reminiscent of the 2024 White Sox. That team nearly set the all-time record for being shut out in a season.
However, unlike the 2024 team, this year's squad has young players who actually matter for the future of the organziation. Their performance is more important than the random veterans that filled out the roster last season.
White Sox head home for important series with Twins
The White Sox will head home to play the new-look Twins this weekend, and it’ll be an important series to set the course for the rest of their season.
Hitting is contagious, but so is not hitting. A couple strong performances on offense could be the key to finishing the season strong and helping fans feel good heading into 2026.
If the offense continues to struggle though, the end of 2025 could look a lot like the end of 2024.