Cairo, Sox maintain motivation after 7th straight loss

MINNEAPOLIS -- Miguel Cairo is not letting this disappointing 2022 White Sox season end without a fight.

It was Cairo, Chicago's acting manager, who challenged his team to play better baseball after a rough outing against Detroit on Sunday in Chicago. It was Cairo who was ejected Tuesday night at Target Field during the sixth inning of a 4-0 loss to the Twins.

And it was Cairo who pushed for his team to strive for a second-place finish when talking prior to the series opener in Minneapolis.

“We've got six games with the Twins, they're two games behind [us],” Cairo said. “I want to finish over .500. I don't think we're a below-.500 team."

Unfortunately for Cairo, the record doesn’t lie.

With their seventh straight loss, starting with a three-game home sweep by the American League Central champion Guardians one week ago, the White Sox fell to 76-78 and now lead Minnesota by just one game for runner-up status. The question might not really be finishing at or above .500, as much as how many wins do the White Sox have among their final eight games.

“When it’s all said and done, we get paid to play the game and compete and try to win games,” said White Sox starter Lance Lynn, who fell to 7–7 after allowing four runs on 10 hits and a walk over 5-plus innings. “So, that’s our job.

“We can’t just fold it up and take it home with us. We have to figure out how to play the best we can the last eight games. Do everything you can to win the game, because that’s our job.”

This White Sox team is depleted. Center fielder Luis Robert was shut down due to a left hand injury on Saturday, while shortstop Tim Anderson (left middle finger) and right-handed starter Michael Kopech (right shoulder) officially were shut down prior to Tuesday’s contest.

But don’t tell the Twins (75-79) about injuries. Not when they have had an American League-high 32 players spend time on the injured list during the course of the 2022 season.

Fortunes for the White Sox went sideways after they lost a hard-fought 10-7 contest to the Guardians in 11 innings last week. The White Sox needed to sweep that series to have a chance in the division, and they seem to be playing as if the season ended last Tuesday.

Cairo, showing his mettle as the team’s manager and a candidate for a future job, expects more from his crew.

“The thing is you have to move on from those days,” Cairo said. “I know it was a tough game to lose, but you have to move on and go to work the next day. You cannot just shut down just because you lose a really good game and the next day, we didn’t show up.”

“It’s very hard but you have to do it,” White Sox shortstop Elvis Andrus said of battling through after elimination. “The last thing you want is to go through the motions with all these games left. You have to finish the season strong and be ready for the next one.”

Against Bailey Ober (2-3) and two relievers, the White Sox finished with a Yoán Moncada double and walk and an AJ Pollock single alongside 14 strikeouts. Part of the credit goes to Ober and his career-high 10 punchouts, but part of it is the lack of a great plate approach from the White Sox.

“I feel like we did a lot of swings out of the strike zone,” Andrus said. “He doesn’t have high velocity but his action, he’s so tall, with his release point we all had a tough time today. You still have to tip your hat. He had a good breaking ball and we weren’t able to make adjustments today.”

“Everybody can sit here and say there’s something better or different we can do,” said Lynn of the team’s 0-7 skid. “All and all we have to keep being there for each other and figure out how to be better. Right now it’s not been good the last seven. But who is to say the last eight won’t be good and that’s what we are hoping.”

Forget about elimination numbers and .500 finishes. At this point, it’s all about pride for the White Sox.

“They're professional baseball players, big leaguers,” Cairo said. “There's a reason why they're here, and they've got to show that they want to finish strong."