Giolito delivers quality start, but Sox's losing skid hits nine games
Let's look at what passes as a bright side for the White Sox these days.
They didn't get slaughtered Friday night.
Heading into their game against the Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Sox were riding an eight-game losing streak and had been outscored 38-8 over their last five.
Manager Pedro Grifol and his players have been putting up a confident front, but the weight of so many wretched setbacks is taking a toll.
They did put up a fight against an excellent Tampa Bay team, but a 3-2 loss dropped their record to 9-20.
"I hate losing," White Sox starter Lucas Giolito said after going 6⅔ innings and allowing 2 runs on 8 hits. "It sucks. There aren't too many words to describe it. (Expletive). I have faith in these guys, faith in myself. We've just got to try and put it together.
"I know we're all trying, but we've got to do it. We've got to turn this thing around."
Reliever Kendall Graveman was just as somber as Giolito following another loss, and he blamed himself.
With the score tied at 2 in the ninth inning, Graveman gave up a solo home run to Isaac Paredes that decided the outcome.
"We are not winning baseball games," Graveman said. "I don't know. It's tough. I have to do my job tonight. Battled our tails off to get to that point. "We're trying to get this thing going.
"You could feel it tonight. We battled against a good team, a really good team. For me to come in there and give up that bomb, it can't happen."
The Sox's erratic offense deserved the most blame for the loss.
After Andrew Vaughn homered off Rays starter Zach Eflin in the first inning and Jake Burger went deep in the second, the bats went silent the rest of the way while going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Second baseman Lenyn Sosa also had a defensive lapse in the first inning that cost the White Sox an important run.
"You can't win going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position," manager Pedro Grifol said. "Can't win. And I talked about it this afternoon and I'll talk about it again, you can't make fundamental mistakes against championship teams. Pretty simple."
After Vaughn's home run, Eflin hit Luis Robert with a pitch. Home-plate umpire Marvin Hudson warned both benches and Grifol snapped while being ejected for the second straight game.
"I don't agree with that rule," Grifol said. "I don't agree with they hit our guy and we get warnings. I don't agree with it, never have, never will. That's just not the way I was brought up in this game."