The White Sox squandered late leads in consecutive losses to the Guardians, dropping out of first place in the AL Central with only 10 games remaining.
The Chicago White Sox never shied away from the importance of this week’s series in Cleveland.
White Sox players considered these to be playoff games, and for good reason. After a multi-week collapse had seen Chicago’s lead in the AL Central shrink, the division, and possibly the team’s fate this season, hung in the balance.
On multiple occasions, it seemed like the White Sox had the series under control. But by the time things wrapped up at Progressive Field, Chicago had choked away two games against the Guardians and dropped the series. For the first time since July 3, the White Sox fell out of first place in the division.
On Tuesday night, the White Sox were one pitch away from securing a series victory when Brayan Rocchio once again got to Grant Taylor in the ninth inning. This time, it was a walk-off two-run double.
On Wednesday, there seemed to be some magic in the air for Chicago. Outfielder Tommy Pham was activated off the injured list under some fairly odd circumstances. Pham wasn’t supposed to return to the White Sox until the weekend, but after bumping into general manager Chris Getz in an elevator Tuesday night, he made his case that he was healthy and ready to go.
Not only did the White Sox activate Pham, but they also put him in the starting lineup, batting cleanup as the designated hitter.
That bold move paid off in the top of the fifth inning when Pham launched a go-ahead three-run home run off Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick. It put the White Sox on top and swung all the momentum in Chicago’s favor.
Then another bullpen implosion struck.
With two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Will Venable made the decision to pull Hagen Smith from the game and replace him with Sean Newcomb. Newcomb faced Guardians center fielder Petey Halpin, who entered Wednesday just 1 for 35 against left-handed pitching this season.
Newcomb gave Halpin a center-cut sinker, which he deposited into the right-field seats for a devastating three-run home run.
Newcomb then proceeded to walk two more batters and surrender an RBI double to José Ramírez, putting the White Sox behind 6-3. In just 20 pitches, he handed the series to the Guardians.
These are going to be difficult losses for the White Sox to overcome, both emotionally and in the standings.
The White Sox are now 77-75 and just 5-12 over their last 17 games. They’ve fallen back to second place in the AL Central and are now at risk of falling out of the playoff picture completely.
Only 10 games remain on the regular-season schedule.
