White Sox Squander Scoring Chances, Lose 3-2 To Padres In Home Finale

CHICAGO –– While a 3-2 loss indicates a quieter day than normal for the White Sox lineup, it wasn't due to a lack of scoring opportunities.

Against San Diego starter Michael King and a Padres' bullpen highlighted by three All-Star relievers, the White Sox totaled five hits and nine walks. But an 0-for-11 day with runners in scoring position resulted in their eighth loss in the last nine games.

"To be in those spots, you have to do a lot of good things and guys did," White Sox manager Will Venable said. "Just in the biggest spots, we weren’t able to move the ball forward and get that big hit."

The White Sox fell into an early hole in the second inning due to a self-inflicted mistake. After giving up singles to Jackson Merrill and Gavin Sheets, White Sox starter Sean Burke's errant pickoff attempt to first base allowed a run to score.

The Padres added a second run in the second, thanks to a single from Jake Cronenworth. Burke made a mistake in the third, leaving a fastball over the heart of the plate to All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr., whose 432-foot blast gave San Diego a 3-0 lead.

His outing was over after four innings with six hits, three runs, two earned runs, zero walks and four strikeouts.

"I felt good with my stuff. I mean, I was in the zone early and all the stuff felt sharp," Burke said. "I think really just made one bad pitch to Tatis, and it was kind of a middle, middle fastball that he put a pretty good swing on."

Trying to mount a comeback, the White Sox put two runners on base in both the first and second innings, and one runner reached base in both the third and fourth. But no one could come through with the big hit required to overcome the deficit.

A prime chance to cut into the Padres' lead came in the sixth, when the White Sox loaded the bases with zero outs after singles by Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas, plus a walk from Edgar Quero. Despite the golden opportunity, they were unable to bring any runs home. Lenyn Sosa popped out, and Curtis Mead and Michael A. Taylor struck out against All-Star reliever Adrián Morejón.

"It’s tough," Venable said. "You do such a good job in really every phase, put yourself in a position down the stretch. We had some big at-bats with runners on base and weren’t able to get the big hit."

The White Sox loaded the bases again in the seventh, this time with one out after a double from Dominic Fletcher and walks by Chase Meidroth and Montgomery. Another All-Star reliever, Mason Miller, entered in the jam and walked Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benindtendi to make it a 3-2 game. That brought up Lenyn Sosa –– the White Sox leader in hits, home runs and RBI –– but Miller induced an inning-ending ground out to maintain the Padres' one-run lead.

A third All-Star reliever, Robert Suarez, came in to close things out in the ninth against the heart of the White Sox order. He had no issue doing so, striking out Kyle Teel and Vargas and getting Montgomery to ground out.

Sunday marked the final home game of the 2025 White Sox season, and before the game, Venable expressed his appreciation for the fans –– 24,205 of which attended the finale.

"They’ve been great the entire summer," Venable said. "It’s been great to see them identify with our growing club and really excited about the thought even beyond today and this fanbase and our group, just excited about the thought of them coming out and supporting us when we have better results is exciting."

In his first year as White Sox manager, Venable has gotten a sense of the fan base's personality.

"They certainly know baseball. That’s for sure," he said. "You hear moments that they get upset about and plays that they are vocal about. They appreciate great baseball plays and they’re appropriately responsive to poor plays. They’re just a smart fanbase and passionate as well. As we’ve seen the good moments get supported and hear about the bad moments, too, which is what it should be."

Next up, the White Sox head to New York for three games against the Yankees before wrapping up the 2025 season with a three-game road series versus the Washington Nationals. At 58-98, they're on the verge of a third straight 100-loss season.

"I think we all want to finish out this next week strong," Burke said. "Playing the Yankees, a playoff team, so we're trying to treat these games all the same and build that momentum then for next year."

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