White Sox flat vs. Blue Jays while losing third straight
The White Sox knew this was going to be a tough stretch of games, and that has proved to be accurate.
It started last week at Guaranteed Rate Field with a potential playoff opponent, the Athletics. The Sox were up to that challenge, winning three of four against Oakland while scoring 21 runs in the series.
It advanced to Tampa Bay, where Tim Anderson sparked a 7-5 win in the series opener Friday night. The White Sox dropped the next two to the Rays and scored just 4 total runs with Anderson on the bench with sore legs.
On Monday night in Toronto, it was another series against a contender, and another quiet loss.
While falling to the Blue Jays 2-1, the Sox managed just 5 singles as their losing streak reached three games.
Anderson missed his third straight game and the White Sox missed his electric bat at the top of the lineup and his overall energy.
"I think it goes back to the whole next man up thing," said left fielder Andrew Vaughn, who snapped a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with the Sox's lone RBI. "With Tim out for a couple games, we had to have guys step up. We're all out there doing our best and it just hasn't gone our way the last few games."
Lance Lynn started for the Sox and was on cruise control until making a rare mistake in the bottom of the sixth.
With Toronto's Bo Bichette on second base and two outs, Vlad Guerrero Jr. came to the plate and got ahead in the count 3-0.
A dangerous hitter making a Triple Crown run, Guerrero was an obvious intentional walk candidate. That didn't happen, but Lynn was pitching around the Jays' No. 3 hitter and he missed with the fourth offering.
Guerrero didn't, driving a run-scoring single to right center field to tie the game. "I don't have any comment about how that was handled," White Sox manager Tony La Russa said.
Lynn did comment.
"It was stupid, there's no other way to say it," he said. "I told Tony that when I got in, that was all on me. I was trying to throw a ball and it ran back over the plate. When you go back and look at it, it's not in a terrible location, but you don't throw a 3-0 strike. There was never any intention to throw a strike."
Lynn allowed only 1 run on 4 hits in 7 innings. Toronto scored the deciding run off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth.
Continuing a tough run, Kimbrel threw a wild pitch with two outs, allowing pinch runner Breyvic Valera to come home from third base.
Since moving from the Sox to the Cubs in a July 30 trade, Kimbrel has allowed 6 runs in 9⅓ innings.
"We've got a lot of confidence in him," Lynn said. "Whenever you come to a new team in the middle of the season, you're trying to just find your way. But you're looking at it, he's throwing the ball well. He's had some weird things happen."