White Sox News: This weekend series is close to a must win

The series between the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles could be disastrous for the Sox if they don’t win two out of three.

That may sound like hyperbole but at 5-8, the White Sox are scuffling. Falling to 5-10 or 5-11 could make it hard to climb back into the pennant race.

Yes, it’s very, very early. And certainly, a Sox team that would be five or six games below .500 wouldn’t be totally out of the race. But as we saw in 2022, climbing out of a big hole in April makes the rest of the season harder.

This Sox team has been a mixed bag so far. It hasn’t won a series or even back-to-back games but it hasn’t been awful. The offense was solid for the first week and a half or so before falling dormant. Key injuries to Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, and Yoan Moncada probably account for that.

That’s three guys known for hitting who are out of action, though Jimenez will return for this series.

The Chicago White Sox need their team to be better going forward starting now.

Pitching has been a weird story, too. The starters were solid in the opening series against Houston but dreadful the following week though most of them have appeared to bounce back in the past few days. The bullpen struggled in Houston but has generally been better since.

Meanwhile, the defense appeared to improve but fell apart against the Minnesota Twins. Anderson’s injury happened due to bad defense.

Gavin Sheets fell in right field and allowed a triple that provided the Twins with the run they needed to help take their series against the Sox this week.

No two parts of the game seem to be clicking at the same time. Again, injuries play a part.

Anderson is a driver of the team’s offense and he can be an okay defender at times. Moncada is incredible on defense but is up and down offensively. Guys are now playing out of position and bench players who struggle to hit and play consistent defense are getting too much playing time.

Key reliever Joe Kelly is also out which is something that is less than ideal for the bullpen that is already struggling.

It’s too early to panic, even if the Sox lose two of three to Baltimore or get swept. But it won’t be too early to worry. If the Sox can win two of three, or even sweep, they will help themselves move beyond a rocky start to the 2023 season.

No series this early should matter this much. But if the Sox have postseason aspirations, this one does and it is all thanks to the mediocre start. The Sox now have a chance to put that behind them.