Ouch

Johnny Cueto could’ve won his start for the White Sox in Kansas City last night. Instead, he got a no-decision as the Sox bullpen imploded as the Royals overcame a two-run deficit in the sixth inning to win going away by a score of 8-3. And then there was Yoan Moncada. The White Sox enigma at third base has stopped hitting, if he ever was hitting this season. Last night, he went 0-for-3 with a walk. On the season, Moncada is batting .194 with a .258 OBP and thirty-two RBIs in 242 at-bats. Over the last seven games, he’s hitting .120 and .132 over his last fifteen. He has a twenty-eight percent strikeout rate based on plate appearances, thirty-one percent on at-bats. And now his fielding looks to be following suit. In the bottom of the sixth, Moncada failed to throw out Bobby Witt Jr. leading off. The scorer was in a generous mood and gave Witt a hit. Whatever, he could have and should have been thrown out. Sal Perez, the next batter, doubled to score Witt. After a flyout, Moncada made an error on a groundball from Hunter Dozier. Then came a strikeout followed by a game-tying single. KC scores at most one run in the frame if Moncada is fielding his position. After the game, Cueto told reporters, “We need to fight. We need to show the fire that we have, if we have any.” Ouch. Do you think he was aiming that barb at his third baseman? I hope so.