CHICAGO -- White Sox fans who stayed until the last out of a 12-5 loss to the Angels Wednesday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field deserve credit for keeping the faith in the face of minuscule victory odds.

But there was no miracle to close out May, duplicating their seven-run uprising against the Rays to finish April, despite a small group of supporters chanting for “nine more runs” after Jake Burger homered with one out in the frame in a 12-2 game. This lackluster performance dropped the White Sox to 23-35 overall and 13-15 at home.

Manager Pedro Grifol commented pregame how this talented group had not clicked yet as a team. Losing a series to the Angels (30-27) certainly doesn’t help.

“We did it yesterday a little bit, but we’ve got to be consistent with it,” said Grifol after the setback. “It’s pretty simple, it doesn’t happen on days like this. As a matter of fact if you don’t regroup and come back with some energy day after tomorrow, this thing can linger.

“So, it’s our responsibility to make sure we nip this in the bud and get back to work and bring some energy against Detroit [Friday] and hopefully win a series. But this thing can linger on and we’re not going to let it. I’m not going to let it.”

Lance Lynn (4-6) entered Wednesday with a 3-0 record and a 1.89 ERA over his past three starts, but those numbers changed quickly when Mike Trout launched a 461-foot home run in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. Shohei Ohtani crushed a 425-foot two-run shot during a four run third and added a prodigious 459-foot clout in the fourth for his 13th career multi-homer game and first this season.

The eight runs allowed over four innings matched a season-worst for Lynn, who now has a 6.55 ERA, as did the three homers he yielded. Not exactly a way to build momentum.

“You give up six runs on three swings. That just can’t happen,” Lynn said. “Especially the two guys that did it.

“Those are guys you can’t let beat you, and today I let them put it to where the offense, it was too big of a hole for them. I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be more efficient. I’ve got to make better pitches and get some outs there.”

Burger’s 11th home run also marked his 10th at home this season to go along with his season debut defensively at second. Eloy Jiménez extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a ninth-inning double and Yasmani Grandal surpassed 8,000 innings caught for his career. Aside from those fleeting moments, it was a rough afternoon for the White Sox.

“It wasn’t a good day of baseball for us,” Grifol said.

“Take the off day tomorrow to regroup to be honest,” Lynn said. “We know we have a division opponent coming in and we didn’t play as well as we’d like. We didn’t pitch as well as we’d like. There’s no other way to say it. Coming into this weekend we’ve got to be better.”

After a difficult 8-21 showing in March and April, the White Sox finished at 15-14 in May. It’s a step forward and still leaves them on the outskirts of a contention in an American League Central without any sort of powerhouse at the top.

But this team’s talent won’t matter if it can’t come together and put together a run. As general manager Rick Hahn mentioned Monday, at some point the front office will have to decide the direction of this team. That point is not the end of May but is coming sooner than later.

“The frustration we all felt in April, we haven’t rinsed ourselves of it,” said Hahn on Monday. “We know this team is capable of performing at a level we saw glimpses over the last four weeks. But not enough. That’s what we’re looking for.”

“You’re looking at it’s going to be June,” Lynn said. “Baseball isn’t, you don’t win games just because talent so we’ve got to figure out how to be better day in and day out. I know it starts with pitching and right now after this series we have to right the ship as starters.”