Reeling White Sox can't put Indians away in walkoff loss
If the White Sox rightfully thought home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez was the worst thing that happened Tuesday night, they were wrong.
Leading the Indians 3-1 in the 10th inning on Adam Engel's RBI triple and Nick Madrigal's run-scoring single, the Sox couldn't close it out in a 5-3 loss at Progressive Field.
The first-place White Sox (34-21) have lost three straight and are trying to hold off Minnesota (33-22) and Cleveland (31-24) in the AL Central.
"I think today you saw a pretty good ballgame up until the end," manager Rick Renteria said. "If we win the ballgame, nobody is thinking about frustration. We actually played a pretty decent ballgame. I think that we are handling it well.
"I think all and all, having conversations with all these guys, they know where we are at. They know it's not about talking about it. It's about going out there and performing."
The Sox probably would have emerged with a win over the Indians if Alex Colome was on the mound. But after he retired the side in order in the ninth inning while throwing just 6 pitches, Colome had back spasms and couldn't return for the 10th as planned.
Matt Foster replaced Colome and got the first two outs before giving up an RBI double to Francisco Lindor and walking Cesar Hernandez.
Jose Ruiz relieved Foster and was greeted by Jose Ramirez's 3-run homer to end the game.
"We have five games left," Renteria said. "We have to put ourselves on track. These guys have been really, really good all year long. Right now we have to continue to play. There's nothing else to do. You can't put your head down. You have to keep playing."
Reynaldo Lopez started for the White Sox and gave up a run over 5 innings while throwing 85 pitches.
"I felt like I threw the ball very well today, and I gave the team a chance to compete," Lopez said through a translator. "Unfortunately, things didn't go well at the end, but that's baseball."
Renteria and Tim Anderson were ejected by Hernandez in the 10th inning after slumping rookie Luis Robert was called out on strikes.
"I think you kind of saw the outcome of the frustration," Renteria said. "We were disappointed with some of the calls that we thought were occurring. And that's it."
Rocket man:
In his third major league appearance, left-hander Garrett Crochet pitched a scoreless inning and twice hit 102 mph on the speed gun.
"He happened to face the top of the lineup and did a really nice job," manager Rick Renteria said. "He's got some pretty good stuff. It's no surprise he's capable of being able to manage some pretty good hitters."