The White Sox found a way to make Friday night feel familiar again, and not in a good way. Chase Meidroth opened the game with a homer after a 70-minute “rain delay,” and Randal Grichuk followed with a double, giving the Sox six total bases on three pitches and a quick jolt of optimism. That lasted about as long as the next few at-bats, which produced a weak groundout and two strikeouts.
From there, the game settled into the same pattern that has been haunting the White Sox lately. They gave back a run in the first, then allowed one in the second, another in the third, and another in the fourth. Anthony “Kiss of Death” Kay was in the middle of it again.
Chicago trailed 3-2 in the fifth and even had the bases loaded, but the chance came and went. Tristan Peters pinch-hit for Brenton Doyle and didn’t give the Sox much to work with, and the offense kept looking stuck. The team is hitting less than .200 this month, and its only sacrifice fly in the last 50 chances came back on August 22 against the New York Mets.
The frustration was in the predictability. The White Sox managed some hits, but once anyone reached scoring position, the inning usually went nowhere. The game followed the same script that has played out over and over since the All-Star break, with the opponent taking control and the Sox wasting whatever openings they created.
Even when the White Sox had another prime opportunity with the bases loaded and one out, the result was the same: an awful-pitch strikeout and a flyout that produced no runs. By then, the outcome felt less like a surprise than a rerun.
The only real bright spot, if it can be called that, was that the White Sox didn’t spend too much time building false hope. The bullpen, with Trevor Richards in the middle of the mess, fell apart quickly.
Chicago still holds the lead in the division and remains in a playoff spot, but the mood around the team is bleak. The confidence level is as low as it gets for a first-place club, and the path to the postseason suddenly looks a lot murkier.
In Other News...
White Sox Just Lost A Key Voice In Their Draft Pipeline
The White Sox lost a familiar figure in their draft room this week, with Mike Shirley resigning from his job as Director of Amateur Scouting and no longer being with the organization. Shirley had been in that role since 2019, making him a significant part of how Chicago evaluated amateur talent and shaped recent draft plans.
For a team trying to keep building a stronger pipeline, the timing matters because Shirley was directly involved in those strategy conversations and selections. The club has not offered any further detail on the resignation, and Shirley has not commented, leaving one more important front-office transition hanging over a development system that has already been under a microscope. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Suddenly Have A Trust Problem In Their Playoff Push
Luis Castillos latest turn in the rotation offered little relief for a White Sox team trying to steady itself in a tight playoff chase. In Chicagos 6-5 win over the Cardinals, Castillo was tagged for three earned runs in just 2.2 innings, another rough outing in a stretch that has made his late-summer arrival from Seattle feel more like a gamble than a lift. Even with the win, the White Sox had to work through another messy night on the mound while inching their way closer to October.
The timing only adds to the pressure, with the magic number down to 13 and a key series against Cleveland looming. Chicago can see the finish line, but the bigger question is whether it can trust enough of its current pitching mix to get there cleanly. Castillos struggles have become part of that conversation, and every start from here carries more weight as the White Sox try to protect their position. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Try To Seal Cardinals Series With A New Wrinkle Sunday
The White Sox head into Busch Stadium with a chance to keep a good run going after their recent victory, and Sundays setup brings a little something different for Chicago. Sam Antonacci is leading off, David Sandlin is getting the start on the mound and the Cardinals will counter with Michael McGreevy, giving the series a fresh look after the usual mix of roster shuffling and lineup tinkering around the edges.
Sandlins call-up has become part of the story here, and the White Sox have also moved Schweitzer off the roster as they continue sorting out the pitching side of things. For a club trying to stack wins and keep momentum in a tough spot on the schedule, the series finale is less about ceremony than seeing whether the new pieces can hold up long enough to finish the job in St. Louis. [Read more 🡒]