Chicago White Sox Lose 6-5 To Guardians, An Embodiment Of Season Heading Into All-Star Break

CHICAGO –– The Guardians made a habit of taking advantage of any slip-up by the White Sox during Sunday's series finale at Rate Field.

In the 10th inning, David Fry scorched Brandon Eisert's changeup with a 104.4 mph exit velocity to third baseman Colson Montgomery, who could only knock the ball down. It was ruled an infield single, not an error, but still meaningfully moved the runner from second to third base.

"It’s the hot corner for a reason," White Sox manager Will Venable said.

Steven Kwan put the Guardians ahead with a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat, which turned out to be the game-winning RBI in Cleveland's 6-5 win. The Guardians took three of four games in the series, as the White Sox fall to 32-65 overall.

That dropped the White Sox record to 8-22 in one run games, second-most in MLB behind 23 by the Braves and Pirates, a fitting way to head into the All-Star break.

"Honestly, today just kind of felt like an embodiment of the first half where we were out there competing, making plays, making pitches, doing everything well in all phases and making some mistakes that cost us," Venable said. "Too much to overcome. For our guys to continue to fight we’ve seen that all year. Today was another great example of them continuing to push and battle.

White Sox starter Aaron Civale was working toward his best outing in six tries since being traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the White Sox in exchange for first baseman Andrew Vaughn. Through 5.1 innings, the White Sox led 3-0 and Civale had allowed just two hits, one of which being a bunt single.

But the seven-year MLB veteran found himself in a precarious position in the sixth after allowing a double to Brayan Rocchio and walking the following two batters. Next up? Seven-time All-Star Jose Ramirez, with the bases loaded.

Civale had a chance to escape the jam, as his cutter induced a ground ball by Ramirez. First baseman Miguel Vargas fielded the ball and quickly threw to second base for the inning's second out. But as shortstop Chase Meidroth turned to throw to first, no one was there.

Ramirez is a speedy runner –– he's tied for second in MLB with 29 stolen bases –– so turning a double play was no guarantee. It would have been a close play, but Civale gave himself no chance to get out of the inning by staying near the mound instead of covering first base.

"Just gotta take accountability for not getting over there and covering first," Civale said. "So, had a chance to get out of it with that, had a chance to get out of it after that, just one pitch away."

"We talked about it," Venable said. "It was just a mental error. He’s upset about it. He understands his job there and that he didn’t do his job. He’s upset about it."

On the very next pitch, Guardians clean-up hitter Kyle Manzardo made the White Sox pay. Civale left an 88.2 mph cutter over the heart of the plate, and Manzardo crushed it 418 feet over the right field fence for a three-run home run. All of a sudden, a 3-0 White Sox lead turned into a 4-3 deficit in the sixth.

That was it for Civale, who screamed into his glove in frustration as Manzardo rounded the bases. His day was done after 5.2 innings, three hits, four earned runs, two walks, three strikeouts and 93 pitches.

Despite a poor finish to his start, Civale felt the first five innings were a step in the right direction.

"Yeah for sure, which makes the sixth all that much more frustrating," Civale said. "But Q and I were on a good page, and we were attacking well. Plays were being made behind me, and we were just in the zone. Probably got a little too fine there in the sixth. So gotta digest that and learn from it and move on."

Baseball typically offers chances for teammates to pick each other up, and that's exactly what happened in the bottom of the sixth. Slugging his 11th home run of the season, Andrew Benintendi tied the game at four runs apiece.

The White Sox gave the lead right back, though, as a walk and a single set up Ramirez for a go-ahead sacrifice fly off of Grant Taylor. The swings continued. Luis Robert Jr. came up in a clutch situation with two outs in the eighth, and drove the ball down the third base line for a game-tying double.

But the Guardians scratched across a run in the 10th to win the series heading into the break. The White Sox resume play on Friday in Pittsburgh after a competitive but ultimately disappointing first half.

"One thing to take away is we're in every game, it seems like," Benintendi said. "We're right there. There's things that we can work on, obviously. I'm sure we'll think about it over the break and come back ready to play."

The White Sox were 27-71 heading into the All-Star break, which makes for a five-win improvement with one fewer game played. The start of this season has been largely defined by major league debuts from 11 players, three of which are the organization's top-six prospects, providing a look into the future.

"Baby steps," Benintendi said. "Guys are getting their feet wet and experiencing this level and playing more. It can only go up from here."

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