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The Chicago White Sox hosted the Boston Red Sox at the worst time possible.
Boston, a team that has been in the basement of the AL East for most of 2026, came into this week's series as winners of nine of its last 12 games. The Red Sox are playing with confidence and, maybe more importantly, with a bit of desperation as they look to make a late playoff push in a wide open American League before the trade deadline.
That hot stretch continued in Chicago, as Boston completely dominated the White Sox in every facet of the game all week long.
The White Sox were swept by Boston, but more than just losing three games in a row, Chicago looked completely lifeless throughout the series. The White Sox went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and neither hit left the infield. They did not have a single extra-base hit in the series, and they scored just two runs over three games.
The White Sox are now 47-45, only two games over .500 with three games to play until the All-Star break. And some of the magic that seemed to carry this team at home all season just hasn't been there lately.
Boston rolled out three left handed pitchers for the series, strategically aligning its rotation to exploit a White Sox weakness. And while the White Sox do have fairly equal numbers against left-handed and right-handed pitching this season, I'm not sure that tells the entire story due to the lopsided nature of the lineup against lefties.
Chicago has some notorious lefty killers like Miguel Vargas and Randal Grichuk, and even Colson Montgomery has been productive in those matchups. But the regular lineup for the White Sox against left handers also includes Luisangel Acuña at shortstop, Junior Perez in the outfield and the occasional Drew Romo start. So when your best players aren't performing, the lineup is at risk of shutting down entirely.
The offensive issues extend a bit beyond just this series. Going back to the start of July, the White Sox have scored three runs or fewer in six of their eight games.
Hopefully, the return of Munetaka Murakami for a series against the A's, the final series of the first half, can bring some life back into the White Sox. Because right now, they desperately need it. The way they've played this week not only hurt them in the standings, but also drained a lot of the energy and excitement from what has been an overall successful first half.
Continue reading...
Boston, a team that has been in the basement of the AL East for most of 2026, came into this week's series as winners of nine of its last 12 games. The Red Sox are playing with confidence and, maybe more importantly, with a bit of desperation as they look to make a late playoff push in a wide open American League before the trade deadline.
That hot stretch continued in Chicago, as Boston completely dominated the White Sox in every facet of the game all week long.
The White Sox were swept by Boston, but more than just losing three games in a row, Chicago looked completely lifeless throughout the series. The White Sox went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and neither hit left the infield. They did not have a single extra-base hit in the series, and they scored just two runs over three games.
The White Sox are now 47-45, only two games over .500 with three games to play until the All-Star break. And some of the magic that seemed to carry this team at home all season just hasn't been there lately.
Boston rolled out three left handed pitchers for the series, strategically aligning its rotation to exploit a White Sox weakness. And while the White Sox do have fairly equal numbers against left-handed and right-handed pitching this season, I'm not sure that tells the entire story due to the lopsided nature of the lineup against lefties.
Chicago has some notorious lefty killers like Miguel Vargas and Randal Grichuk, and even Colson Montgomery has been productive in those matchups. But the regular lineup for the White Sox against left handers also includes Luisangel Acuña at shortstop, Junior Perez in the outfield and the occasional Drew Romo start. So when your best players aren't performing, the lineup is at risk of shutting down entirely.
The offensive issues extend a bit beyond just this series. Going back to the start of July, the White Sox have scored three runs or fewer in six of their eight games.
Hopefully, the return of Munetaka Murakami for a series against the A's, the final series of the first half, can bring some life back into the White Sox. Because right now, they desperately need it. The way they've played this week not only hurt them in the standings, but also drained a lot of the energy and excitement from what has been an overall successful first half.
Continue reading...
