Frustrated White Sox fall to Royals, 4-1
The Chicago White Sox have been in first place in the AL Central since April 23, they have the league's best No. 1 starter in Chris Sale and probably the best No. 2 in Jose Quintana.
They have quality hitters like Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier and Adam Eaton, and the defense is vastly improved over last season.
So what's the problem?
In the long term, the Sox are going to need some outside help if they hope to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years, and general manager Rick Hahn has vowed to do everything possible to bolster the roster.
In the short term, the White Sox are obviously frustrated after falling to the Royals 4-1 Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
How frustrated?
Seven White Sox hitters were called out on strikes by home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the loss, including Eaton to end the game.
Slowly walking toward the dugout after being rung up, Eaton turned back and went after Wendelstedt. Had manager Robin Ventura not alertly stepped in and pulled Eaton away, the leadoff man might be facing a suspension.
"It's tough when you strike out and you only saw one strike and you didn't take the bat off your shoulder," said Eaton, who was ejected even though the game was over. "It's pretty tough to hit like that. I think most guys didn't like the inconsistency all night. Like I said, it's tough. I think "Hitting is hard enough as it is, and when you have those inconsistencies, it makes it even more hard - especially with (Kansas City closer) Wade Davis throwing 95-plus. Very difficult. I think he heard my displeasures. But a new day tomorrow. Those guys have got a job to do and we do, too, so we'll get back at it."
Quintana (5-3) started for the Sox and was cruising until the sixth inning, when the Royals scored 3 runs on 5 hits.
"I missed a couple of pitches," said Quintana, who came in with the lowest ERA (1.54) in the league. "And after the double by (Omar) Infante, I tried to keep it down in the zone. But I missed a couple of pitches. It happens when you miss the zone."
Ventura tried to shake up the scuffling offense by moving Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier up a spot to No. 2 and 3, but the bats failed to fire again. The Sox were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and they left 9 runners on base.
"Really, the game was we had some opportunities and we didn't do that same thing that they did of being able to put it in play, knock guys in," Ventura said. "We had enough guys on base, we just didn't execute enough."
The Sox (25-17) have lost 5 of their last 6.
"I can't stress it enough, you've got to play a full six months in this league," Eaton said. "You can't play a month and think you're going to throw your gloves out there and win. There are many teams that do really well in the first month and you don't see them in September. We're not going to be one of those teams. We've got to get better as the season goes on, and it starts tomorrow."