Losing two of three is unfortunately becoming a theme for the Chicago White Sox.
On Wednesday night, the Sox had a chance to take the rubber match from the AL-West leading Rangers. After a promising start to the ball game backed by an Eloy Jimenez RBI-double in the first inning (scoring Luis Robert Jr.), Texas went on to score six unanswered on their way to a 6-3 victory. Like the ‘South Siders’ did in the previous three series (versus the Marlins, Dodgers, and Mariners), they had a chance to win the series in the last game and failed to do so. That’s now four series in a row that the Sox have lost.
Michael Kopech started for Chicago on Wednesday and didn’t have his best stuff. After struggling to consistently find the strike zone for most of his outing, Manager Pedro Grifol decided to pull him from the game after four innings pitched. He finished with a mediocre stat line of four hits and three walks allowed, to go along with three earned runs and five strikeouts. His ERA now sits at 4.06 on the season.
On a night where it was sorely needed, the offense couldn’t quite string together a big inning. After the Jimenez RBI double in the first, Andrew Vaughn‘s solo shot in the 6th inning cut the lead to 6-2. A Seby Zavala sacrifice fly (scoring Clint Frazier) brought the Sox within three, but that’s as close as they would get.
With the loss, the White Sox fall to an unsightly 32-44. They are now 5.5 games behind the AL-Central-leading Minnesota Twins.
W: Martin Perez (7-3) | L: Michael Kopech (3-6)
Statcast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Bottom of the 1st: Jiménez doubled to right. Robert Jr. scored, Jiménez to third. 1-0 White Sox.
- Bottom of the 6th: Vaughn homered to left center (375 feet). 6-2 Rangers.
- Bottom of the 7th: Zavala hit a sacrifice fly to center. Frazier scored. 6-3 Rangers.
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 ER, 5 K, 86 pitches (46 strikes)
Kopech struggled with efficiency and command all night. He battled through four frames and will look to command the strike zone better in his projected start next week against the Angels in Los Angeles.
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, Solo HR (11), RBI, R, K
After a rough 0-for-11 series in Seattle, Vaughn went 4-for-12 with two home runs and three RBI in the three-game set with the Rangers. His 44 RBI on the season lead the White Sox.
Eloy Jimenez: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI
Eloy is slowly coming alive as we enter the midst of summer. While he doesn’t have any multi-hit games in the last two series, he does have two home runs and four RBI in that span.
Touki Toussaint: 4.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Recently claimed off waivers, Toussaint provided four hitless innings of relief work tonight. His curveball looked especially sharp, and he’ll likely remain with the major league club while Liam Hendriks and Garrett Crochet are on the Injured List.
Next Matchup
The White Sox have an off day on Thursday before beginning a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field. Boston’s young right-hander Brayan Bello is slated to toe the rubber against Chicago’s fellow right-hander, Lucas Giolito. Both hurlers are enjoying strong campaigns, with ERAs of 3.49 and 3.54, respectively.
The game will begin at 7:10 PM CST and can be viewed on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
On May 11th the White Sox fell thirteen games under 500. Forty-one days later the team has improved by one game. Yep, 41 days, twelve games under 500. Impressive!!!!
We should become accustomed to this! Every time it seems that the White Sox are turning things around, they backslide! Of course, what more would you expect from such a lower tier team? Clearly, the team doesn’t have the ability or the material to go into overdrive! We saw this all last year! Actually, this has been going on since the 2021 All Star Break, where they didn’t play much better than .500 the whole second half of 2021! That caught up with them in the playoffs! A friend said that they are just not jelling. I told him that that is because they don’t have the material! A master potter can’t make a pot if he doesn’t have the clay, and a master chef can’t prepare a meal if he doesn’t have the ingredients! In late April another writer stated that if the White Sox fall double digit games below .500 that they are cooked! He stated that this team doesn’t have the ability to climb out of such a hole! He knew then what we should all know by now!
Spot on about 21. Were it not for a season ending five game winning streak, the team would have played below 500 out the gate from the All-Star break.