Find Head, Scratch

Nothing like holding the Yankees to two hits and still losing the game, which the White Sox did yesterday afternoon, 5-1. It could’ve been one hit in a 3-1 loss, but manager Tony La Russa continues to think Jose Ruiz is a go-to pitcher in late-inning situations. It’s even possible the Sox could’ve won 1-0 on Adam Engel’s first homerun of the season, if only Michael Kopech had found a way to get through the second inning. With two out and nobody on, Kopech served up four walks, a single and a wild pitch to plate three runs. For all intents and purposes, game over, this even though Kopech and three relievers retired nineteen straight batters, starting with the third out in the second inning. After the game, Kopech soundly fairly incoherent—at least to me—about what happened. The agony of that second inning took 41 pitches and God knows how many minutes to unfold. Kopech said he turned things around by getting a “better focus.” If he lost it, his catcher and/or his pitching coach needed to find it for him quick. In that, Reese McGuire and Ethan Katz failed entirely. One might ask why McGuire was even playing, as a left-handed batter against lefty starter Nestor Cortes. An 0-for-2 day put McGuire’s BA at a paltry .140, not that Yasmani Grandal’s .165 is a whole lot better. Did I mention Jose Abreu is in a 1-for-28 sprial? That puts his BA at a sub-Mendoza Line .197. So, did the manager give him the day off? Of course not. Abreu went 0-for-4 as the DH. It was Yoan Moncada who grabbed some bench. Mind you that Moncada had four hits, two of them homers, in the first three games of the series. His bat could’ve helped beat the team with the best record in baseball. With the Royals coming up next on the schedule, he could’ve rested any of the next five games (in four days), and the Sox would still have a good chance of winning. But, No, Josh Harrison played instead. Harrison went 0-for-3 and would need to go on a tear to get above Mendoza’s line, as in adding fifty-one points. All I can do at this point is scratch my head and wonder what’s up.