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The Chicago White Sox exhibited the traits of the team many predicted they could be while winning two of three games against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in their first series after the All-Star break.
Unfortunately for Sox, many of the issues that have led them to their current place in the standings popped up while losing five of six against the New York Mets at Citi Field and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
The Sox return home Tuesday to host the City Series against the Cubs. They’ll head into that matchup a season-high 19 games under .500 at 41-60 and 12 games out of first place in the American League Central.
Instead of discussing moves to position themselves for making a run in the stretch drive, most of the recent national buzz surrounding the club has centered on which Sox veterans could be on different teams by the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
Manager Pedro Grifol had a precise summary of where the Sox stood ahead of Saturday’s game against the Twins.
“We have to play better baseball,” Grifol said.
The Sox were 17 under .500 as they prepared for their 100th game of the season that night, which Grifol said was “unacceptable” and “isn’t going to cut it.”
“We have to tighten things up,” Grifol said. “We have to put things together on both sides of the ball.”
Grifol said there was a lot he didn’t like and some things he does like.
“I like the fight we’ve shown,” Grifol said. “The (at-bats) when we’re down. I like the way our starting pitching eats innings. There’s a lot of things I like. I don’t like our mental lapses, our base running needs to be better. Our inconsistency in discipline at the plate needs to be better.
“There’s always room for development, there’s always room to get better. And we talk about that all the time as a staff. And it’s just not them, it’s us too, me included. Listen, I need to be better too. We all need to be better. This is not going to cut it.”
What worked in Atlanta? It started with the approaches at the plate, like the third inning on July 15.
Spencer Strider had struck out five of the first six batters of the game. Sharp singles by Zach Remillard and Oscar Colás set the tone for the third, with Andrew Benintendi driving in a run with a bloop single to left and Luis Robert Jr. bringing home two more runs with a bloop double.
It carried over the next day with a four-run second inning featuring a walk, four singles and a two-run home run by Jake Burger.
That type of execution was missing later in the trip. The Sox went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Twins and were 2-for-13 with RISP during Sunday’s 5-4 loss in 12 innings.
The Sox went 0-for-5 while failing to score in the final two extra innings of Sunday’s game, with Remillard credited for a sacrifice when he decided to bunt with one out in the 12th.
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There were also lapses defensively, like Friday against the Twins when Elvis Andrus couldn’t hold on to Benintendi’s throw from left field to second on what would have been a sure out. Alex Kirilloff followed with a home run and the Sox were in a two-run hole in the first. Later on, Remillard couldn’t make a catch on a fly ball to right field with two outs in the seventh. Kirilloff made them pay again with a two-run double.
Sunday, Colás couldn’t stay on his feet while tracking down a fly ball in shallow right field in the 10th. Joey Gallo tagged up from third and raced home to even the score.
A one-out walk in the eighth inning Saturday and a leadoff walk in the ninth Sunday sparked rallies for the Twins. A wild pitch in the 10th put the Sox in a position to have to bring the infield in. The pop-up to shallow right followed.
Those small details keep adding up to painful results for the Sox.
The mindset after 100-plus games, Benintendi said Saturday, is “just keep playing hard.”
“It’s easy to look at the standings and think that you’re out of it and everything like that,” Benintendi said after the 3-2 loss. “But you just got to keep your head, keep working and show up every day ready to play, and chips will fall where they may.”
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It’s also how players like Lucas Giolito have approached the trade deadline. He’s one of the players frequently mentioned in trade speculation.
“I’m cool with it,” Giolito said when asked /after Sunday’s game/ how he’s processed it all. “Whatever happens, happens. It’s not really on the forefront of my mind when it comes to when I’m here and I’m getting ready to pitch and I go out and pitch.
“I’m just going to do my job just like any other year, any other day. That’s it. That’s my mentality. See what happens.”
Teams around the majors are also waiting to see what happens next for the Sox.
