The Chicago White Sox fell to the Boston Red Sox 12-11 in a wild game at Fenway Park on Thursday. This loss means that for the first time ever, the White Sox will go 0-for-the-season against Boston.
The question is, does this game mean anything long term?
We ask that a lot after tough losses and inspiring wins -- I asked it just recently after a White Sox collapse at home against the Houston Astros -- even though we also know that things tend to even out over the course of 162 games. Last night's heartbreaker against Boston has me asking that question again, since there's a lot of context involved.
For one thing, Boston is in the midst of incredible run -- the Red Sox have gone 31-5 since June 25th, and before they swept Chicago at Fenway Park, they'd swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in L.A. The Dodgers, of course, are pegged as the team most likely to win it all this season.
The White Sox struggled to score against Boston's pitching in the first series in Chicago, and then staff aces Davis Martin and Sean Burke struggled in the first two games, one of which was a 14-2 Boston blowout. The White Sox did blow leads throughout Thursday's game -- the Red Sox never led until they walked it off -- but the offense finally looked good against a red-hot Boston team.
It's easy to say a young White Sox team that's probably overachieving this year isn't to the level of the Red Sox -- but are the Red Sox for real or just on an incredible run? Boston was left for dead earlier in the season, and the Red Sox are still in third place in a loaded American League East even with this amazing run.
Back to the White Sox -- this is the same team that fought back for a split against the New York Yankees last week and took two out of three, with the only loss coming in a 1-0 pitchers' duel, from the Tampa Bay Rays before heading to Boston. The Yankees and Rays were considered the standard of the AL before Boston when on its run, and both are ahead of the Red Sox in the standings as of this writing.
I don't follow the Red Sox closely, so I honestly don't know if this 31-5 stretch is a tremendous fluke or if the Red Sox are really that good. And that makes it tough to use Thursday's game or the series as a whole as a measuring stick -- did the White Sox get swept by a future possible playoff opponent or just a team on an unusally incredible heater?
I also can't make sense of how upset I should be about the loss -- should I be concerned that new acquisition Luis Castillo coughed up a lead or happy that he looked good early? Should I be happy the bats finally came alive or worried that the Sox missed opportunities to tack on insurance runs -- insurance runs they obviously needed? Should I be happy that another new acquisition, Huascar Brazoban, seemed to pitch well in an attempt to get a four-out save or upset that he allowed the tying run on a two-strike base hit? Maybe he gets excused because Wilyer Abreu chased a pitch out of the zone and managed to place it just right?
I am concerned that Chris Murphy fired a wild pitch that helped Boston's Jarren Duran score the tying run in the bottom of the 12th inning -- that can't happen. A bad send in the top half that inning resulted in White Sox outfielder Braden Montgomery being thrown out at home -- if he's safe, the White Sox would've had an excellent opportunity to score more insurance runs. With the so-called "ghost runner" rule in effect in extra innings, one-run leads are hard to hold on to with a runner starting the inning on second base.
At least White Sox manager Will Venable said the right things after the game, pointing out his awareness of the Sox's self-inflicted wounds and the need to clean them up. Now, the White Sox need to do that. Sloppiness will prevent them from advancing very far in the postseason, should they make it.
The good news is the White Sox gained ground against the Cleveland Guardians before taking them on this weekend at home. The bad news is that the Sox lost a chance to generate some good vibes before heading home by salvaging that series in Boston. The good news is that the bats finally picked up. The so-so news is that if you were going to lose a game like that, it feels more excusable when the opponent is on a historic streak.
It's one of 162 and hopefully it's forgotten by October. As a fan, I can't decide if I want the White Sox to play Boston again in the postseason and to get revenge by winning, or if I am already so tired of the Red Sox hype that I want to see them cool off so much that they don't even make the playoffs.
That aside, I just want to see the White Sox clean up the sloppiness. No more wild pitches with men on second. Fewer walks. Better at-bats. Better baserunning decisions from the base runners and the third-base coach.
The White Sox have the talent and the trade deadline acquisitions likely made the roster better. Now, if the White Sox can fix some flaws within their control, they'll have a much better chance against the Bostons of the world.
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