Missed chances haunt White Sox in 5-4 loss to Mariners

The White Sox spent the afternoon tripping over their own shoelaces. They outhit Seattle 11-7 but still dropped the rubber match. Eleven strikeouts, 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, nine left on base. All that traffic, and nothing to show for it.

It was the kind of game that keeps rebuilding clubs awake at night — enough traffic to win, not enough execution to finish the job.

The omens were bad from the jump. In the top of the second, the Mariners practically handed the Sox a gift when Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Jarred Kelenic drew three straight walks to open the inning. Bases loaded, nobody out, and a golden opportunity to seize momentum. Instead, Tristan Peters whiffs, and Drew Romo rolled into an inning-killing double play. Just like that, the Good Guys come away with a big fat zero.

Seattle immediately made them pay.

After Randy Arozarena got plunked in the bottom of the frame and swiped second, Dominic Canzone smacked a double down the first base line to plate the game’s first run and put the Mariners ahead, 1-0.

The Sox answered in the third. Sam Antonacci punched a one-out single, then stole second after Munetaka Murakami flew out. Andrew Benintendi followed with an RBI single to center to knot things up at 1-1.

But Seattle kept the screws on Sean Burke, whose rough stretch continued. In the fourth, Arozarena worked a leadoff walk, stole second again, and eventually came around when Patrick Wisdom ripped a two-out double to left, giving the Mariners a 2-1 lead.

Chicago clawed back once more in the fifth. Luisangel Acuña and Antonacci opened the inning with back-to-back singles, and Murakami delivered with an RBI knock to plate Acuña and tie the game at 2-2.

Burke’s afternoon ended shortly after. He walked Jhonny Pereda to begin the bottom of the fifth, then hit Cole Young before Julio Rodríguez packed the sacks with a single. Antonacci bailed him out with a nice play on a Josh Naylor fly, and then Arozarena popped up, but Will Venable had seen enough and pulled the plug anyway.

Sean Newcomb came on and cleaned up his mess, preserving the tie and salvaging Burke’s line: 4 2⁄3 innings, four hits, two runs, three walks, five strikeouts.

However, it was the sixth inning that may have been the game’s defining moment. Meidroth led off with a single, and after Kelenic struck out, Peters ripped a ground-rule double that got lodged in the wall down the line. Runners at second and third, one out, another massive chance. Then came the kind of mistake that young, agressive teams make: Meidroth got caught in a rundown breaking toward home during Romo’s at-bat, erasing the lead runner before González grounded out harmlessly. Another golden ticket, shredded.

Seattle finally broke things open in the seventh. Pereda ambushed a Newcomb pitch for a leadoff solo shot to make it 3-2, and after Rodríguez doubled, Venable waved in Jordan Hicks to face Arozarena.

It did not go well.

After getting ahead with strike one, Hicks grooved one over the plate, and Arozarena didn’t miss. Two-run bomb, 5-2 Seattle, just like that.

But the Sox still had chances.

Eighth inning, Sox still breathing. Meidroth and Kelenic single, Peters reaches on a throwing error, and Meidroth scores. Miguel Vargas drew a pinch-hit walk, two on, two out. Edgar Quero, hero last Sunday, comes up as the tying run — swings through strike three — threat over.

Brandon Eisert handled the eighth at least, kept things tidy in the bottom half, tossing a quick inning and even picking off Emerson after issuing him a walk.

Ninth inning, last gasp. Randal Grichuk jumps the first pitch for a pinch-hit homer to right. Sox within one, and the dugout has a flicker of life.

Then, poof, the bats disappeared.

Three straight strikeouts. Ballgame.

So went the afternoon for the South Siders: traffic everywhere, timely hits nowhere.

Even after the loss, the Sox are 25-24, still above water and 2 1/2 games back, depending on what Cleveland does against Detroit. Off day Thursday, then they’ll head to San Francisco for three. Time to forget this one ever happened.

Who was the White Sox MVP?

Sam Antonacci: 2-for-4, R, SB, K

Randal Grichuk: 1-for-1, R, HR, RBI

Munetaka Murakami: 2-for-5, RBI, K

Andrew Benintendi: 1-for-4, RBI, K

Chase Meidroth: 2-for-3, R, BB, K, CS, PO

Jarred Kelenic: 1-for-3, BB, K

Tristan Peters: 1-for-4, 2B, K

Luisangel Acuña: 1-for-3, R, 2 K

Brandon Eisert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K

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Who was the White Sox Cold Cat?

Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, BB, K

Drew Romo: 0-for-3

Derek Hill: 0-for-1, K

Edgar Quero: 0-for-1, K

Sean Burke: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K

Sean Newcomb: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, K, L

Jordan Hicks: 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R

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Missed chances haunt White Sox in 5-4 loss to Mariners

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