CLEVELAND -- If the White Sox could devise a perfect way to start eight games played at Cleveland and Minnesota over this last week going into the All-Star break, well, then their 8-4 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field on Monday night certainly would not have been it.

Lance Lynn allowed five runs during a 39-pitch first inning and, despite cutting the lead to one in the fourth, the White Sox never could fight all the way back. Chicago (41-44) fell to 5 1/2 games behind the idle Twins (48-40) in the American League Central and now sits 1 1/2 games behind the Guardians (42-42) with a doubleheader on tap for Tuesday.

This loss came on the heels of a tweet earlier in the evening from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale which said that White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams addressed the players and staff on Friday concerning their underachieving performance this season. He reminded them of their talent, according to Nightengale, but said that it was time to focus and pull together.

When reached via text by MLB.com concerning the meeting, Williams termed it a “private discussion.” That Nightengale tweet added no one was absolved, from staff to players. It’s a fair mindset, considering everyone is accountable for this rough showing.

But the White Sox disagreed on a weekend note from Nightengale, stating there have been whispers about unrest in the clubhouse, cliques forming and lack of player leadership. Dylan Cease, who gets the start in the night portion of Tuesday’s split twin bill, said the clubhouse has a similar feel to last season, when the White Sox won the division.

“Oh yeah. Oh definitely,” Cease said. “It honestly makes coming into the clubhouse and to the park a lot more enjoyable. I consider this a pretty close-knit group, so, yeah it’s definitely not an issue on this team.”

Some people looked at a video posted on the White Sox Twitter account Friday showing shortstop Tim Anderson being announced as the AL starting shortstop for the All-Star Game as a sign of lethargy or even trouble. It was a far more subdued reaction compared to when Anderson found out he made the team for the first time when the White Sox were in Baltimore last season.

Remember, it’s also the difference between a team comfortably in first during the 2021 campaign vs. a team falling well below expectations in ‘22. Yet, this group continues to battle, as Yoán Moncada launched a three-run home run in the third to help the White Sox get close.

“It is hard, but we know that we have to fight back every time,” Moncada said through interpreter Billy Russo. “[We need to] fight through the whole game, and that was what we did today. It’s a matter if we are up or down on the scoreboard, we have to do our best in every inning.”

Manager Tony La Russa stuck with Lynn in the fifth, with the veteran at 90 pitches and after he escaped a first-and-third, one-out situation in the fourth. But La Russa let Lynn go a little too long, as Nolan Jones doubled home two during a three-run inning.

“Yeah, you are looking two games tomorrow. To be honest with you, I have to get through six today and I let the team down,” said the always direct Lynn, who yielded eight runs on nine hits and two walks in four-plus innings. “The score tells you all you need to know.

"It doesn’t matter how you feel. If you give up eight runs, you are ...” Lynn said, while finishing his thought with a colorful phrase to describe his performance.

“We make a run and comeback, we didn’t have five innings left in the 'pen,” La Russa said. “He went out there, 0-2, got a base hit. Needed the next guy and he got away. Needed that fifth inning and he tried.”

All five of Cleveland's first-inning runs were scored with two outs, adding to the toughness of Monday’s setback. And to be honest, no competitor is happy when they lose, especially at the start of what could be a season-changing road trip in terms of the immediate direction of this team.

“We need and we want to win every game. And that’s our goal. That’s what we are trying to do this week,” said Moncada, whose team fell to 2-10 this season against the Twins and Guardians. “Today is in the past. We have to move forward and try to get as many wins as we can.”