Grand slams sink White Sox’ West Coast road trip but not their momentum

SAN FRANCISCO — Take away a couple of big swings by their opponents, and the White Sox likely would have had a better shot at breaking even or better on their third West Coast road trip of the season.

Then again, take away a couple big innings for the Sox’ offense, and they just as easily could’ve been swept out of both Seattle and San Francisco.

That’s how it goes for .500 baseball teams, a category this still-rebuilding but freshly competitive Sox squad is getting used to, and clinging to heading ing Memorial Day, after three years of cellar-dwelling incompetence.

Rafael Devers grand slam off Sox flamethrower Grant Taylor was the difference in the Sox’ rubber-match series finale on Sunday, as rookie starter Noah Schultz struggled in an 8-5 loss, dropping to 2-4 on their westerly sojourn.

Things started off promisingly for Sox leadoff man Chase Meidroth, who crushed the eighth pitch of his at-bat against Giants starter Robbie Ray for a home run to left-center.

But Schultz ran into early problems with a leadoff walk to Willy Adames, who scored on Casey Schmitt’s double. Devers then clanked another RBI double off the right-field bricks at Oracle Park. Schmitt later clubbed a two-run homer off Schultz in the third inning,

Luisangel Acuna’s sacrifice fly scored Derek Hill in the fourth, and San Fran pitchers walked the bases loaded to open the fifth. The Sox tied the game 4-4 on an RBI groundout from Colson Montgomery and a single from Edgar Quero.

Venable called it a day for Schultz in the bottom of the fifth after serving up a double to Adames and plunking Luis Arraez for the second time in the game.

But Taylor, the Sox’ second-year reliever, didn’t fare any better, walking the bases loaded and serving up a mammoth grand slam to Rafael Dever. It was the first big league homer surrendered Taylor, whose fastball velocity seemed to be down a tick in San Francisco.

Miguel Vargas, a day after his two pop-up snafus sans-sunglasses set the stage for a Harrison Bader grand slam, hit a solo shot, his 12th of the year, to narrow the gap.

That salami broke Saturday’s game wide open for the Giants as well. The Sox won Friday’s series opener on a nine-run fourth inning, but were hitless the rest of the game.

The only game they eked out in Seattle came courtesy of a ninth-inning rally capped by Andrew Benintendi’s RBI infield single.

Nearly a third of their way through the calendar, the Sox have exceeded expectations at 26-26, good for second place in the wide-open American League Central, four and a half games back of Cleveland and holding onto a wild-card spot, for those looking far too prematurely at such things.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the Sox are only two and a half games behind the free-falling Cubs.