KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hooked up to the Kansas City Royals’ torture device all weekend, it ended up being a miserable time for the Chicago White Sox.
Three consecutive one-run defeats for the White Sox were capped with Sunday’s 5-4 loss in oppressive heat and humidity, which only accented the agony.
After a seven-game winning streak before the non-waiver trade deadline that appeared to breathe life into the White Sox, the club has lost eight of its last 10 games and that faint flicker of playoff light way off on the horizon has all but faded once again.
Just a game away from .500 as recently as July 29, the White Sox are now 51-58, including a 3-10 mark against the Royals this season. Where the Royals dominated the White Sox during a three-game sweep at Kansas City to open the season, this series highlighted the Royals’ ability to play a complete game and avoid the little mistakes.
The White Sox, on the other hand, couldn’t figure out how to deliver the finishing kick they needed for a victory.
Whether it was Adam Eaton getting picked off first base Sunday or Jose Abreu’s throw home in the eighth inning that could have prevented the go-ahead run from scoring, the White Sox left every game of this series thinking about the little plays that could have been big difference-makers.
Taking the talent levels of the rosters out of the equation, the White Sox simply have not been able to match the Royals’ drive and intensity. Former White Sox outfielder Alex Rios had the honor of scoring the go-ahead run to cap off the third and final Royals victory of the weekend.
“That ball there (in the eighth inning), I thought Jose actually made a nice play to even make it close,” manager Robin Ventura said of Omar Infante’s ground ball to Abreu’s right. “You get kind of the ball you want hit, maybe a little harder, but that’s just an unfortunate play. I think (pitcher) Jake (Petricka) even probably threw the pitch he wanted. It wasn’t very well struck, but at that point, it doesn’t matter. They’ve got a guy who can run down the line.”
On Saturday, the White Sox dealt with Jeff Samardzija losing his command after three innings and Geovany Soto getting picked off second base to end a threat with two runners aboard and Abreu at the plate.
On Friday, the White Sox went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, failing to deliver in the eighth inning with runners at second and third with no outs.
“They play hard every game,” Petricka said of the Royals. “We were playing just as hard; we just didn’t get the break this time. You can always say you missed an opportunity but it’s just a break one way or another. We got ourselves into situations, they got lucky and got out of them. We just kind of missed one break. It’s part of the game.”
It’s part of the game the White Sox know all too well of late. Starting pitcher Jose Quintana is the master of the hard-luck game, coming away with his 47th no-decision since 2012, the most in baseball over that time.
Quintana trailed 3-0 four Royals batters into the game, but managed to settle down. The White Sox even tied it in the third inning, on an RBI single from Gordon Beckham and a two-run hit from Alexei Ramirez.
The White Sox tied it again in the eighth inning on a two-out RBI single from Melky Cabrera. But the Royals remained undaunted. A half inning later they got a Rios single, a Paulo Orlando double and Infante’s grounder that made the difference.
“It’s always tough,” Ventura said. “You see opportunities you have. We’ve had some guys on third base, haven’t been able to get them in, and they all add up. You’re in a tight game, and you’re on the opposite end of a one-run game.”
The White Sox return home for a three-game series that opens with staff ace Chris Sale on the mound. But where that was once reason for optimism, Sale has struggled over his last four starts, posting a 7.61 ERA over that span. Opponents are batting .350 against him in those four outings.
“These guys are grinding; they’re not laying down,” Ventura insisted. “They continue to battle back. I thought there in the eighth, we continued to grind away, even though they had an early lead. It’s a tough bullpen to come back against, so to be able to do that, I like the effort they had. We just didn’t get it done.”