The Chicago White Sox have spent most of this season giving fans reasons to believe their stunning turnaround is real. September is about to find out just how real it is.
Tuesday's 9-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates was ugly enough on its own. The bigger concern showed up elsewhere on the scoreboard, where another Cleveland Guardians win trimmed Chicago's AL Central lead to only two games.
White Sox no longer have much room for error
Sean Burke picked a bad night for his worst start of the season.
Pittsburgh scored five runs before Burke could even record his first out. He eventually lasted just 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs and eight hits after entering the night with a 3.20 ERA.
Batted around in the first. 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/3HbBHYSfGR
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 9, 2026
It happens. Even good pitchers occasionally have nights where absolutely nothing works.
The White Sox just aren't in a position to shrug off many more of them.
Chicago has lost four of its last six games while Cleveland has started moving in the opposite direction. A division race that once provided the White Sox with some breathing room has suddenly become uncomfortable.
Two games separate them now.
And guess who's waiting next week?
Upcoming Guardians series suddenly looks enormous
The White Sox travel to Cleveland for three games beginning Sept. 14th.
A month ago, that series looked important. Now it could go a long way toward deciding who wins the AL Central.
That's quite a change for a White Sox team that has been one of baseball's biggest surprises this season. Simply being in this position represents a massive leap from where the franchise stood not long ago.
Nobody is going to care about the feel-good story if Chicago gives the division away in September.
The White Sox still control the race. They don't need Cleveland to lose. Win games and the division belongs to them.
But the cushion is disappearing quickly.
Tuesday was one awful loss. Burke had his worst outing of the season, Pittsburgh piled up 18 hits and Chicago never recovered.
The standings made it sting a little more.
The White Sox have spent five months proving they're ready to contend again. Now comes the uncomfortable part.
They have to finish the job.
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