After climbing back into the AL Central race, the White Sox let multiple winnable games slip away because of poor situational hitting, defensive mistakes, and questionable late-game decisions.
After a win on Saturday evening against the San Diego Padres, the Chicago White Sox were sitting with a 16-17 record and a chance to make some noise in the AL Central.
Even if it was only temporary, the thought of the White Sox getting into first place in the division in the month of May was a foreign concept to White Sox fans and would have been a welcome sight.
But the White Sox closed out that series with the Padres with a frustrating loss because of poor managerial decisions and an inability to take advantage of opportunities. That carried over into a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels this week, and the White Sox finished their road trip by losing three of four games in frustrating fashion.
On Sunday afternoon, the Padres took a 4-3 lead over the White Sox in the eighth inning when Xander Bogaerts turned an accidental check swing into an RBI infield single. The White Sox then put the tying run in scoring position against Padres closer Mason Miller, but because they hadn't placed Austin Hays on the IL, despite the fact that he was unavailable due to injury, Luisangel Acuña ended up coming to the plate with the game on the line. It ended with an easy strikeout and an uncompetitive at-bat.
On Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the White Sox left runners in scoring position in the fifth, sixth, and ninth innings.
In that ninth inning, with runners on the corners and one out, all Chicago needed was a fly ball to the outfield to tie the game. Poor situational hitting from Colson Montgomery ended in a strikeout. The White Sox then allowed Edgar Quero, for whatever reason, to hit for himself with the bases loaded.
Just like Acuña, Quero predictably struck out with the game on the line, ending the opportunity for the White Sox to get back to .500 and take first place in the AL Central.
Noah Schultz took the ball for the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon as Chicago looked to bounce back from the bitter taste left in their mouth on Tuesday and win the series. This time, it wasn't much of a competitive ballgame thanks to some bad defense.
The White Sox took an early 1-0 lead, but in the bottom of the second inning, Schultz got what should have been an inning-ending double play. Shortstop Colson Montgomery lost the ball on the transfer, allowing the Angels to extend the inning. A few pitches later, catcher Travis d’Arnaud blasted a three-run home run off Schultz.
That homer was followed by a double, a triple, and a pop up where second baseman Chase Meidroth fell down and lost the ball in the sun. Before you knew it, it was a 5-1 Angels lead.
Then in the bottom of the fourth, Schultz had the bases loaded and two outs, set to battle Jorge Soler and get himself out of the inning while keeping the White Sox in the ballgame. Instead, Will Venable pulled Schultz and went to Osvaldo Bido, the worst pitcher on the White Sox staff by a long shot. Bido proceeded to hit two consecutive batters with pitches, scoring two runs, both of which went down as earned runs on Schultz's line.
It was 7-1 Angels, seven earned runs for Noah Schultz, and his season ERA jumped to 4.68. It pretty much took the White Sox out of the ballgame.
The Angels won by a final score of 8-2 and managed to take the series. That now brings the White Sox to 17-20 on the season, with a stretch of really difficult games on the way. The White Sox will play the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago Cubs in an extended homestand over the next few weeks.
Fortunately, 17-20 is still within striking distance in the AL Central, and if you had told White Sox fans before the season that the team would be sitting at that record through 37 games, anyone would have signed up for it. But I can't help but feel like the Sox let a few games get away from them to close out the road trip. And regardless of your expectations for the season, that's frustrating to watch.
The White Sox will have an off day on Thursday as they head back to Chicago, and they'll look to get back in the win column when they host the Mariners on Friday night.