Robert (HR) adapting to leadoff spot as Chicago's tough stretch continues

ARLINGTON -- The Chicago White Sox are trying to get things turned around. They’ve moved Luis Robert Jr. into the leadoff spot. They’ve shuffled how they use their bullpen, not necessarily waiting until the ninth inning to bring in closer Michael Kopech. They’ve downplayed the impact of the rampant trade speculation surrounding several players in the clubhouse, at least publicly.

But the season continues to be a struggle with the White Sox falling 10-2 to the Rangers on Wednesday at Globe Life Field, Chicago's 10th straight loss.

“We’re going through it right now, right?” manager Pedro Grifol said. “But we’re going through it with the mentality of, we're coming to the ballpark every day to try to win a baseball game, but we're also coming to the ballpark every day to improve and develop and do the things that we have to do to set us up moving forward.

“Again, our No. 1 priority is to win baseball games, and we're trying to win games. We're not winning them. It's not like we're just coming out here to develop, you know? That's not what we're doing, and I want to make that clear. This is not a developmental league. This is the Major Leagues. You're coming here to win baseball games every single day. We're just not doing it. We're finding a way to lose the game in some way, shape or form. We’ve just got to continue to clean it up.”

The White Sox had an early 2-1 lead Wednesday when Robert belted a solo home run in the third inning off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi. But Chicago was held scoreless the rest of the night, finishing the game with four hits and 13 strikeouts. It was the sixth straight game in which it scored three or fewer runs.

On the pitching front, White Sox starter Chris Flexen saw his pitch count rise early, but he still got through four innings of one-run ball. He didn’t make it out of the fifth, though, as the Rangers rallied for two runs and a 3-2 lead.

“Just had to grind through it,” Flexen said. “Obviously didn’t have the best command, still was able to work through and make some pitches at times, but fell short.”

As far as moving into the leadoff role this series, Robert said he has felt “normal.” He is now 5-for-17 (.294) with two home runs, one double and five RBIs in the four games he’s batted out of the leadoff spot.

And, regarding trade speculation, Robert addressed it similarly to how starters Erick Fedde and Garrett Crochet did the first two nights of this series. Yes, the chatter is there with the Trade Deadline approaching in six days, but it’s largely out of a player’s control.

“I haven’t paid attention to that,” Robert said. “I hear people talking about it and some of the guys have been telling me, but I try not to pay attention to it.”

For now, the focus is simply trying to find a way to win a game.