4 costly Chicago White Sox losses to the Cleveland Guardians, who won the season series to secure the tiebreaker

Acting manager Miguel Cairo pointed the finger at himself after the Chicago White Sox suffered a crushing 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in 11 innings Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

There were misplays and a lack of early hitting from the Sox. There were untimely walks — not that there are many good times to issue one — that sparked the Guardians’ two-run rally in the seventh to tie the game just after the Sox had pulled ahead.

The Sox also showed fight, scoring twice in the 10th against remarkable closer Emmanuel Clase to extend the game another inning. But the Guardians took command in the 11th, scoring five runs on the way to opening a five-game lead in the American League Central entering Wednesday.

“It was a tough night because you want to second-guess yourself,” Cairo said before Wednesday’s game. “I looked back, I checked and I was like, ‘You’ve got to move on.’ You cannot just take that day and bring it to the next day. That’s not fair.

“I talked to people, see what they think. I’ve got some friends and that’s how I go about it. You’re going to learn. This is my first time managing, so I’m learning a lot.”

The difficult path back to the postseason became more challenging for the Sox with the Guardians securing the edge in the season series — 10-7 with two to go entering Wednesday — and thus the tiebreaker.

The losses to the Guardians have come in many forms. Here are four other costly defeats for the Sox in the season series.

Guardians 11, Sox 1 (Game 1 of a doubleheader)

The first meeting of the season was delayed two days because of poor weather in Cleveland.

When they finally took the field, some of the themes that would play out throughout the season were on display in the first game of a doubleheader. The Sox, who entered Wednesday second in the majors with 96 errors, committed four that afternoon.

The Guardians had eight consecutive hits, including a José Ramírez grand slam, during a nine-run second inning.

“It’s a common problem — you have an off day and you have to push, and I didn’t push the club like I should have,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said after the game. “I take the heat. We weren’t ready to play early, and it’s my job to get that done.

“The ironic thing was after the early sluggish play, there were about four or five really outstanding defensive plays on our side. That’s why I say look to me to get them ready to play, and I didn’t do it.”

Guardians 12, Sox 9 (11 innings)

There are tough losses. And then there’s what occurred to the Sox in the opener of an early May homestand.

Aiming for their seventh consecutive win, the Sox led 8-2 going to the ninth.

The Guardians shocked them with six in the inning, capped by Josh Naylor’s grand slam against closer Liam Hendriks with two outs to tie the game.

Naylor hit a three-run homer off Ryan Burr in the 11th, and the Guardians handed the Sox perhaps their worst defeat of 2022.

“Some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the bug,” Burr told reporters after the game. “Unfortunately I was a bug today. I got squashed.”

Guardians 7, Sox 4 (Game 1 of a doubleheader)

The opener of a doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field had its ups and mostly downs for the Sox, who fell behind 4-1 before tying the game with three in the seventh.

Naylor was the nemesis again, breaking the tie in the ninth with a pinch-hit RBI single against Hendriks. The Guardians scored two more in the inning as the Sox dropped their second straight coming out of the All-Star break.

“Tough loss,” La Russa said after the game, “not a whole lot of analyzing there.”

Guardians 5, Sox 2

The Sox had Triston McKenzie on the ropes in the first but didn’t deliver the knockout hit at Progressive Field.

Four of the first five batters collected hits as the Sox took a 2-0 lead. But Yasmani Grandal grounded into an inning-ending double play.

McKenzie settled in and struck out 14 in seven innings. The Sox struck out 17 times overall.

The Guardians went ahead with four in the seventh. Steven Kwan tied the game with an RBI triple against Reynaldo López. Amed Rosario hit López’s next pitch to left for a run-scoring single.

That inning also included La Russa electing to intentionally walk Oscar Gonzalez on a 1-2 pitch, the second time the Sox went that route this season.

The first time, June 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, was followed by a three-run homer. This time, the Sox worked out of the inning with the next batter flying out.

The larger story was McKenzie and the Sox’s inability to produce when they had opportunities, an issue that has hurt the Sox throughout the season.

“We had one chance to get it bigger in the first and then we had a chance in the fifth to add on (failing to score after a leadoff double),” La Russa said. “And he was pitching well, so usually it comes back to haunt you and it did.”