Three Major Takeaways from White Sox Series Loss to Cleveland

For the first time in 75 days, the Chicago White Sox will not be at the top of the American League Central Division. A 6-3 White Sox loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday caused them to drop the series against their division rivals. At this time two weeks ago, the South Siders had a 2 1/2 game lead over Cleveland, but today they are half a game behind them.

‎This is the first time since July that the Sox will have to chase from behind, and there are 10 games left to go in the regular season. However, the supercomputer MLB standings still favor the Sox to win the AL Central despite Wednesday's loss.

Three Takeaways from a Tough White Sox Loss

Anthony Kay had a 1.64 ERA across 16 innings against the Guardians before today's game. He had a good start on Wednesday, giving up two hits, two walks, and two unearned runs on a disastrous Chase Meidroth error. He threw 66 pitches before exiting in favor of Hagen Smith , who had a dominant fifth inning but collapsed in the sixth, allowing two walks.

‎Those two walks were the team's doom, even though manager Will Venable brought on Sean Newcomb for Smith. Newcomb immediately gave up a three-run home run to Petey Halpin , thus giving Cleveland the lead. He gave up two hits and two walks, contributing to a four-run inning. John Hicks and Noah Schultz finished up the game, with the White Sox already out of energy for a comeback.

Fans were caught by surprise after outfielder Tommy Pham was activated for Wednesday's game. Acquired at the end of August , he had told the team that he was ready to come back to the lineup. He was rewarded for his enthusiasm with DH duties and batting cleanup.

‎Many scoffed at the lineup, but Pham proved himself capable of the task in the fifth inning when he hit a three-run home run to give the White Sox a temporary 3-2 lead. Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters were hitless, while Luisangel Acuña failed to come through with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

‎ Rookie sensation Munetaka Murakami was benched today because of his hitless run . Since August 19, he has hit no home runs and accumulated 27 strikeouts.

After going down 6-3 in the sixth inning, the White Sox couldn't find their spark. And that has been obvious since the beginning of this month. White Sox fans knew that it would take everything the young team had after consecutive seasons of 100 losses , but didn't know it would come in September.

‎The team has been overburdened and has not been able to adjust to the battle-testing level of the major leagues. Roughly 20 players on the team roster are making their debut this season, which means they lack enough experience.

Nonetheless, they have had quite a season, way beyond anything White Sox fans expected. With the season winding down, the South Siders still have a shot to win their division and play in October. But no matter the outcome, the team has shown that it has what it takes to achieve big things in the near future.

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