White Sox remain 'all in' despite struggles

CHICAGO -- The White Sox went from good to bad to worse to almost pulling off an improbable victory during a 7-5 loss to the Tigers Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

In fact, after scoring three runs with two outs in the eighth to cut the lead to what would be the final score, Andrew Vaughn drew a playoff-like roar as he stepped to the plate to pinch-hit against Tyler Alexander with runners on first and third. Vaughn had been under the weather the past two games and was unavailable, although manager Tony La Russa said pregame he could pinch-hit Friday.

Vaughn’s chance came with the game on the line, but he struck out swinging on three pitches. The White Sox brought the winning run to the plate twice in the ninth against Michael Fulmer (who earned his second save), but Luis Robert struck out and José Abreu, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games, flew out deep to right with runners once again on the corners.

It was a solid comeback for the White Sox after Detroit (36-47) scored all seven of its runs over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. But there are no moral victories for a team expected to win the American League Central at the very least.

Instead, they slipped to 39-43 and failed to gain ground on the Twins or the Guardians, who both lost as well. The White Sox hold a 3 1/2-game edge over fourth place Detroit, while trailing the division-leading Twins by 6 games.

“Definitely different,” said White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who had two hits, when asked to describe Friday’s setback. “But we just have to keep grinding, keep coming to the ballpark trying to get better every day.

“Keep trying to be good teammates. Just keep working hard and hopefully that brings wins. We understand we are in a tough stretch but it’s part of the game. So, we just have to keep grinding it out and keep working.”

• Anderson earns first All-Star starting nod

This stretch leading into the All-Star Game and the ensuing four-game series to start the second half features 19 straight against the division, with eight against the Guardians and now four remaining against the Twins. It was a chance to turn around a slow start with head-to-head battles.

But after Friday, the White Sox are 1-4 on this homestand and 1-4 in that stretch. They fell to a dismal 11-16 against the AL Central and an even worse 17-25 at home. There are no real answers for why the team has played poorly at Guaranteed Rate, aside from the same reasons plaguing the White Sox overall through 82 games.

Luis Robert launched a long home run in the first off Detroit starter Tarik Skubal, but his two-run shot stood as the team’s only runs until the eighth. Lucas Giolito (5-5) allowed two runs through the first 6 2/3 innings before giving up Jonathan Schoop’s single and a walk to Spencer Torkelson in the seventh.

La Russa stuck with Giolito, who finished with eight strikeouts and 94 pitches. But Jeimer Candelario, who homered off Giolito in the sixth, singled to break the tie. The Tigers scored four in the seventh.

“It was good and then it was really bad,” Giolito said. “Felt like we were in a good spot executing pitches. The homer, just left the changeup up. I’m really [ticked] off about that inning, the walk, and then the next inning the same thing, walk comes back to hurt me. That’s really it.

“I've got to give us a better chance there. I was doing well, and then I put us right in a hole that our offense had to try to climb out of, and they gave it a hell of a shot. But I can’t let that get out of hand. I did.”

Robert dropped a fly ball with two outs in the eighth, leading to the Tigers’ seventh run. It ended up being a big tally when the White Sox rallied. It was a rally bringing excitement to the 29,215 in attendance, but ultimately not a victory. No ground was lost, aside from another chance coming off the schedule.

“We jumped out early. We were trying to add, but I give Skubal credit. He made a lot of good pitches to add to that score,” La Russa said. “And we kept playing until the end. That's what we do."

“Everybody is all in,” Anderson said. “We understand what we are trying to do. Just gotta go out and be better and keep working. Hopefully that brings wins.”