Even before slugger Munetaka Murakami got hurt on May 29, when he suffered a Grade 2 right hamstring strain against the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago White Sox were facing a difficult early June. The Sox would be facing 12 games against the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees. Sure, half those games would be at home, Rate Field, but would that help?
Then Murakami went down and Sox fans everywhere shuddered. Even though he'd back, barring setbacks, within 4 to 6 weeks, he'd be missing for this huge 12-game slate against the best teams in baseball.
Sox fans are used to fretting, it's the default setting for fans of this franchise. But the Sox went ahead and kept plugging. One of these 12 scheduled games was wiped out by rain, and a few of the five losses were ugly, but the Sox generally acquitted themselves well and showed no evidence that this team isn't ready to hang with the big dogs.
The first three games against Philly -- the Sox were in all three. Then they came home and took two from Atlanta, including by having current ace Davis Martin out-duel former Sox ace and likely future Hall of Famer Chris Sale. Then, after a rain-out, the Sox beat up on the Dodgers, winning 8-2.
That series ended with a 6-4 victory driven by three home runs from Sam Antonacci, Colson Montgomery, and Chase Meidroth.
There was a mild nightmare in New York, as the Sox were drubbed 12-2 in game one and doubled up 10-5 in game two. Martin got whacked around, as did Anthony Kay. There were mental errors and pitchers chasing bad counts and Yankees hitters dropping bloops and smacking blasts. But the Sox salvaged the third game thanks to a pinch-hit, first-pitch grand slam following two hit batsmen. That allows the team to head to Detroit to face the division-rival Tigers on a confident note.
The sole loss to the Dodgers was nearly a bit of history, as Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamaoto flirted with first a perfect game, and then a no-hitter. A Tristan Peters home run saved the Sox from being no-hit and shut out.
It wasn't a perfect 12-game stretch, and White Sox worrywarts have plenty to occupy their time. Davis Martin's struggles in New York, Anthony Kay's struggles in New York, and the team's overall road struggles are concerning. The Sox missed a chance to take the Philly series, there were some mental mistakes during the stretch, and the Sox needed late heroics to come back in the third game against L.A. The offense also seemed impotent until late against New York, and no series in which you're outscored 23-12 is a great one. Some ABS and manager challenge decisions were questionable.
Overall, the Sox seem to be in need of pitching help. Closer Seranthony Dominguez walked a tight rope during the save in the final game against L.A.
That's the bad, The good is that the Sox look to have an actual home-field advantage, the offense is clicking across the board, and the team doesn't stop playing hard or fold when the opponent takes the lead.
This 12-game, well, 11-game, stretch may or may not mean much in the long run. The Sox still need to finally play the Cleveland Guardians, and the Minnesota Twins have gotten hot. The Tigers are banged-up and likely out of the race, but they aren't so bad as to be an easy rollover.
The main thing here is that the Sox gained confidence -- and can take away learning lessons from the losses. Finishing just 6-5 in these 11 games may not look great on paper, but if you watched the games, the Sox passed the eye test.
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