White Sox's excruciating losses beginning to repeat themselves
The Chicago White Sox found an especially excruciating way to drop three-of four-games to the Kansas City Royals this week, falling in Thursday's series rubber match on a walk-off bunt.
Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth with runners on the corners, Freddy Fermin stunned the road team by bunting home the game-winning run.
Losing on a walk-off bunt is hard enough, but for the White Sox, this was the second time they have fallen victim to the unusual event this season. On April 11, Minnesota Twins' outfielder Michael A. Taylor likewise walked off the White Sox with a 10th-inning bunt.
The loss to the Royals is extra painful for a White Sox team still looking to shake off its early-season struggles. While a series split might not sound like a big deal, for the Southsiders, it would have been. Following their loss to Kansas City, Chicago fell to 2-12 in series this season, with their only set wins coming against the Twins and Cincinnati Reds.
Already 39 games into the 2023 season, the White Sox have struggled to find consistency, having strung together back-to-back wins only once this spring. Chicago is also only a few weeks removed from a brutal 10-game losing streak.
At 13-26, the White Sox are only a game better than the Royals (12-27) in the American League Central standings and only 4.5 games ahead of the lowly Oakland Athletics for the worst record in the AL.
While the White Sox can take some slight solace in going 3-4 during their seven-game road trip, things don't get any easier once they return home. On Friday, they will welcome the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros to town.
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