After players-only meeting, White Sox roll to 7-1 win over Royals
If the season was playing out as projected, the White Sox's 7-1 win over the Royals Thursday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field wouldn't have generated much of a reaction.
Given the talent levels on both teams, it would have been expected.
For the Sox (65-66), this season has been littered with failing to meet expectations.
Moving into September and the stretch run, the players had a meeting before unloading on Kansas City.
"It's been frustrating this year," outfielder AJ Pollock said. "I feel like we've had times where we felt like we were going to get on a roll and it just never happened and it probably deflated us a little bit. We're trying to light that spark.
"When you get guys talking real and you get guys just sharing what's really going on and not faking it, it felt good. We'll see what happens. It'd be cool to look back and say that was a turning point, but we know we've got work to do. We know we've got to show up and just keep getting after it and keep pushing and put pressure on the teams above us."
A group of roughly 10 veterans had a meeting in mid-August, which turned out to be a difficult month for the White Sox.
But since they play in such a weak division, there is still hope.
"It was good because I think everybody left the meeting motivated and knowing we have to keep battling," starting pitcher Johnny Cueto said through a translator. "Keep fighting to get to the point where we want to be."
On a muggy South Side afternoon, Cueto allowed 1 run on 6 hits over 5⅓ innings and Pollock and Andrew Vaughn each hit 2-run homers to spark the offense.
"It's no secret we haven't played really good baseball this year," Pollock said. "We've underperformed. Feel like there have been times where we've put a lot into it and it just hasn't worked out and it's been really deflating.
"But at the same time we've got to keep showing up, we've got to keep pushing and pushing. We know we've got the group. We know we've got players that can make that run. We can't wait. This is it. This is the chance that we can get on a little bit of a run here."
After winning 2 of 3 against the Royals, the Sox host the second-place Twins in a three-game weekend series.
"I'm going to tell you, there have been so much injuries and I think we've been doing a really good job playing with a lot of the big pieces on our team being away or injured," said Miguel Cairo, who is filling in as White Sox manager while Tony La Russa is getting medical attention in Arizona. "We've been handling, with all the injuries, I think we're in a place that anything can happen. Hopefully, our lineup's going to be back, our pitching's going to stay healthy and see what happens."