CHICAGO -- A good portion of the 20-minute talk with White Sox general manager Rick Hahn prior to Friday night’s 6-3 loss to the Orioles at Guaranteed Rate Field was about injuries and some early underperformance from the now 5-9 squad.

You know, an eerily similar script to Chicago’s disappointing 2022 campaign.

Hahn was encouraged by the potential comebacks for sidelined players such as third baseman Yoán Moncada, shortstop Tim Anderson and right-handed reliever Joe Kelly, with Eloy Jiménez returning from the injured list to the starting lineup against Baltimore on Friday. Hahn also cautioned against making any overarching judgements through 13 or 14 games.

“I think the simpler way of explaining it is we know we have something to prove,” Hahn said. “And we know we haven’t proven it yet.”

The finish to Friday’s contest didn’t exactly give any further proof.

With Chicago holding a 3-0 lead entering the seventh, Baltimore scored six unanswered runs to hand the White Sox their third straight loss and sixth in their past eight games. They have yet to win back-to-back games this season, and they need to win the last two against the Orioles to avoid five series without a victory to open 2023.

Friday also marked the club’s fifth loss this season after leading.

“I don’t want to say we just beat ourselves, but it feels like every game we kind of feel like we beat ourselves,” White Sox starter Mike Clevinger said. “We could have a lot of wins right now. 

“So it’s finding our identity, which we’re in the process of, and trying to mold those pieces together. Seems like one day one thing is doing well, and something is off. Sometimes it takes a little time with new faces and a new clubhouse. It takes time.”

Clevinger struck out five and allowed one hit over six innings, emerging unscored upon despite five walks. Strong defensive plays from Andrew Benintendi in left and Lenyn Sosa at second prevented the Orioles from putting up a big inning against the right-hander in the sixth.

Chicago’s bullpen did not hold up. Jake Diekman walked two in the top of the seventh before being replaced by Reynaldo López, who allowed Terrin Vavra’s infield single to load the bases with two outs. He walked Cedric Mullins to force in Baltimore’s first run. Then after jumping ahead of Adley Rutschman 0-2 with a well-placed slider and a 99 mph four-seam fastball, López caught too much of the plate with a 100.3 mph offering, and the O’s catcher ripped a bases-clearing double to left-center.

“In those moments, you need to be good,” said López through interpreter Billy Russo. “I made two good pitches in that at-bat. That was just a bad pitch, bad location.”

“He just missed out over the plate,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He wasn’t trying to throw the ball in the middle of the plate. He just missed there. I think it was a 100 mph fastball. [Rutschman] put a good swing on it.”

The Orioles (8-6) added two more runs in the eighth and shut down the White Sox behind relievers Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista. Chicago’s record dipped to 4-12 over its past 16 home games, dating back to Sept. 4, 2022. The club is 1-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field in ‘23, which is where the focus should fall upon, because even with the injuries and the slow start, this season is not last season.

Five games behind the Twins with only 14 played, the White Sox need to find the identity Clevinger spoke of before they get buried in the American League Central while waiting for guys to get healthy.

“It's really dangerous to take broad conclusions from one game or three games at any stretch of the year, whether it’s April -- when things tend to get magnified -- or even mid-June,” Hahn said. “Any three-game stretch -- frankly, any 13-game stretch -- is not necessarily indicative of the other 149 games.

“Every team wants to get off to a good start. We’re disappointed in how the start has gone thus far. There have been times when the starting pitching was probably the culprit for keeping us out of games. There have been times when the bullpen [was to blame]. Both of those two stepped up over the week in Minnesota. So it’s just really a matter of getting each element clicking at the same time."