The Sox dropped their 10th of the last 11 against the Royals on Sunday afternoon, as an extreme pitcher’s duel saw the Royals win 2-1 in 10 innings after zero runs were scored in the game’s first nine.
Brett Myers was surprisingly ineffective as he took the loss in the 10th inning. Credit: Getty Images
For the south siders, the starter was Hector Santiago, who pitched 4.0 scoreless innings but had his pitch count catch up to him. With extended September rosters currently in place that isn’t as big of a deal as far as taxing the bullpen goes, so Manager Robin Ventura handed the ball over to Brian Omogrosso and company with confidence.
The likes of Omogrosso, Nate Jones, Matt Thornton, Jesse Crain, and Donnie Veal were able to combine for 5.0 scoreless innings, as the Sox were able to shut down the normally pesky Royals. Problem was, Jeremy Guthrie kept up with his dominance of the Sox tossing 8.0 shut out innings of his own.
What this game came down to was obviously the Sox’ inability to capitalize on big opportunities. The most noteable chance came in the bottom of the 9th inning as the team’s most consistent hitter, Alex Rios came to bat with the bases loaded and 1 out. Rios promptly hit a weak ground ball that Kansas City turned for two, as those darn Royals had suddenly taken momentum into extra innings.
Does the Royals’ dominance of the White Sox make sense? No. But at this point, it seems unavoidable. There’s only 3 games left against them this year, so hopefully the White Sox can figure out a way to take that series and end the season-long struggles against one of their AL Central foes on a high note.
Like I’ve said so many times recently, sometimes you just have to accept a loss late in the season when you don’t lose ground in the standings, as frustrating as it may be. The Detroit Tigers were swept today by the LA Angels of Anaheim, as the Sox are set to start a huge 4-game series against the Tigers at US Cellular Field on Monday evening.
The Sox have a 2.0 game lead, so hopefully they’re able to reverse their bad fortune of late against Detroit as they’re finally not facing off in Comerica Park. Stay tuned for the series preview Monday afternoon.