White Sox fall apart in 10th, lose to Royals
The boos were back at Guaranteed Rate Field Thursday.
Looking to start stringing wins together after snapping an eight-game losing streak the day before, the White Sox fell apart in the 10th inning and lost to the Royals 5-2.
With closer Liam Hendriks still dealing with back discomfort and Kendall Graveman unavailable after pitching 2 innings Wednesday, Aaron Bummer was on the mound for the Sox in the 10th.
The left-hander walked two K.C. hitters to load the bases before a passed ball by catcher Reese McGuire scored an unearned run.
Kyle Isbel followed with a 2-run single off Bummer as the Royals padded their lead and stuck the White Sox with another setback.
After another erratic appearance out of the White Sox's bullpen, Bummer (0-1, 7.04 ERA) knew the boos were mostly aimed in his direction.
"You know, just the same thing," he said. "In the first two, three weeks of the season I've put my team in some pretty crappy situations. Whether or not it's guys having to come in behind me or just not making pitches when I need to, simply I need to get better. The way I've been throwing the ball isn't the way I want to throw the ball, it's not the way that I know that I can."
Like just about all of his teammates, Bummer appears to be pressing as the Sox (7-11) continue to stack losses.
"When you see his command being erratic, it has everything to do with pressing." manager Tony La Russa said. "He shows you when he gets the ball and wants to get a double play ball and strikes people out, you know, hits the guy in the foot, walks another guy.
"It's something we've talked about a couple of times. There are guys trying too hard, which is when you put your arm around them and tell them we are with you and things will get better."
Bummer, who came on in the ninth and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 1 hits, 2 walks and a hit batter in 1⅔ innings, downplayed the pressing theory.
"I think it's the ebbs and flows of the season," he said. "We all go through stuff and you have highs and lows and you just kind of ride the wave with that. But there's a lot of work that needs to be done to get to where I want to be."
Trailing 2-0, the White Sox came back to tie Kansas City on Leury Garcia's solo home run in the sixth inning and AJ Pollock's sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Michael Kopech started for the Sox and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks over 5 in innings while throwing a career-high 94 pitches.
"At the end of the day, we all want to win," Kopech said. "And a game like I had today where I didn't have my best stuff, I just do what I can to get as deep as I can. Today wasn't very deep. I think we all have that mentality we're going to work with what we have and it's all going to click at some point in the season."