White Sox off to franchise-worst start after 11-4 loss to Reds
“In total, we had eight walks,” said manager Pedro Grifol. “It’s hard to win baseball games like that.”
Fans booed after center fielder Dominic Fletcher’s bad defensive play led to a run scoring. The game was already in the Reds’ favor, but it’s understandable for fans to be frustrated at the defensive miscues after the organization talked in the offseason about upgrading that side of the ball.
Poor hitting is one thing, but the defense and stolen bases allowed — the Reds’ six stolen bases are the most the Sox have allowed since 2017 — are inexcusable. The White Sox’ season continued with an 11-4 loss against the Reds. The Sox’ 2-13 start is the worst in franchise history.
“Walks killed us, [being] behind in the count also killed us,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “That happened yesterday as well. In total, we had eight walks. It’s hard to win baseball games like that. On the defensive side, we made a couple of miscues that are really unacceptable.”
White Sox aim to stop ‘pressing’ amid early skid
CHICAGO — Marcus Thames, speaking at length about the White Sox struggling offense, said the following before the Reds punctuated a three-game weekend sweep at Guaranteed Rate Field with an 11-4 Chicago loss on an otherwise picturesque Sunday afternoon.
“It’s not pretty right now, but eventually it’s going to have to turn around,” Thames told MLB.com in an extended interview. “It can’t get any worse.”
But these words from the White Sox hitting coach really summed up the entire outlook of the 2-13 squad, which has lost four straight and is off to its worst 15-game start in franchise history.
The White Sox certainly are hoping that sentiment is true because it’s been pretty bad through 15 games. The team has been without its top three offensive forces in Luis Robert Jr., Yoán Moncada and Eloy Jiménez due to injury and has been shut out a Major League-worst five times. The offense has been held to one or zero runs in a game eight times — also at the bottom of baseball.
With the offense struggling, the pitching staff almost has a feeling of needing to be perfect, as even a 1-0 or 2-0 deficit looks insurmountable. The same sort of pressure falls upon the defense and the baserunning.
Simply put, everyone is trying to do a little too much to get things right. The result is losing baseball.
“It sucks. I mean, no one likes losing. No one wants to struggle,” second baseman Nicky Lopez said. “You can use the term ‘It’s early,’ you can do any of that stuff, but it’s our livelihoods, it’s our careers, and no one likes to struggle.”
“Guys are pressing a little bit. We gotta get past that too,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “That can’t be the theme every single night. We got to get to enjoying this game and just relax and play.”
Sunday’s setback, marking the Reds franchise’s first three-game sweep of the White Sox, was a cornucopia of rough baseball. Michael Soroka walked six and allowed five runs over 4 2/3 innings, with the staff as a whole walking eight.
Cincinnati picked up six stolen bases, the most allowed by the White Sox since July 15, 2017, against Oakland. A usually sure-handed Robbie Grossman dropped a fly ball in right field during a four-run seventh inning, the same frame in which Dominic Fletcher made a long run to right-center on Tyler Stephenson’s fly ball, got a glove on it and then couldn’t corral what was ruled a double.
Left fielder Andrew Benintendi was charged with an error in the ninth during a three-error afternoon overall. The White Sox put extra emphasis on strong defense and fundamentals since the off-season, something general manager Chris Getz stressed again on Friday. That sort of play was not prevalent in the series finale.
“There’s no way of explaining it. We have to make those plays. This is the Major Leagues. You gotta execute,” Grifol said of the defense. “I’m not going to sit here and make excuses for that. There’s no way.
“Those were mistakes that shouldn’t happen at this level. But they happened and it’s past us. Now we have to come back here and get after it tomorrow. That’s basically what it is.”
This litany of struggles and underperformance can be a bit overwhelming, but all is not lost. Rookie right-hander Nick Nastrini, who showed talent and mound presence beyond his years during Spring Training, makes his Major League debut Monday night in the series opener against the Royals.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are viewing the road ahead as a long season during which they can make changes and make improvements.
“We play 140-some more, whatever it is,” Lopez said. “Just keep attacking it and try to stay as positive as you can, and hopefully it turns.”
“The best teams that I’ve been on … got turned around real quick,” Soroka said. “It’s just a constant belief that we do have what it takes, we do have the talent in this locker room and to let it play.”
Grifol wouldn’t discuss prior team meetings, categorically stating he wants what’s talked about in the clubhouse to stay in the clubhouse. But he stressed that talks have taken place.
“Conversations happen every single day,” Grifol said. “Individual conversations, team conversations, group conversations. I want to make sure everybody understands that. It’s not like we are playing this type of baseball and it’s like, ‘We’ll come get them tomorrow.’ It’s not the way this thing works.”
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