CLEVELAND — White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon made two mistakes and paid for them.
In the first inning, Cannon threw an 82.8 mph sweeper low and inside that first baseman Kyle Manzardo sent to right field for a two-run homer. Then in the third, after allowing a leadoff double to shortstop Brayan Rocchio, left fielder Steven Kwan got all of a 93.6 mph fastball for another two-run shot.
Two mistakes changed the game for the Sox in Thursday’s 6-1 loss against the Guardians. The Sox finished 0-6 on their first road trip of the season and were outscored 28-12. The team has lost eight straight games; they didn’t lose their eighth straight game until May last season.
Thursday’s loss was another poor outing for Cannon — who labored through 5⅓ innings, allowing six runs on seven hits, three walks while striking out six — but the Sox’ struggles on their road trip stem from their listless offense.
Thursday marked the sixth straight game without a homer for the Sox — they had just two extra-base hits in their three-game tilt against the Guardians. Far too often, the Sox squandered the few scoring opportunities they did create.
In the second, right fielder Austin Slater and second baseman Lenyn Sosa reached base on back-to-back singles with no outs off starter Gavin Williams. But the team squandered their chances by recording three consecutive outs to end the inning — a strikeout by left field Brooks Baldwin, a lineout by center fielder Michael A. Taylor and a flyout by shortstop Jacob Amaya.
Williams held the Sox to one run on three hits and struck out seven.
“Williams has really good stuff,” manager Will Venable said. “And in some spots where we might have had some opportunities, he just made some really good pitches and we weren’t able to string some things together. Credit to him, he’s got really good stuff and it was just one of those days we couldn’t get it going.”
Those days are becoming every day for the Sox, and the offensive woes won’t end soon. Catcher Korey Lee (left ankle sprain) and outfielder Mike Tauchman (right hamstring strain) were placed on the 10-day injured list. On Tuesday, the club also lost left fielder Andrew Benintendi to a left adductor strain.
Without their three best hitters and the players they added — utility player Greg Jones, outfielder Joshua Palacios and catcher Omar Narvaez — unlikely to produce a spark, the White Sox will have to tread water with what they have.
Entering Thursday, the team was 17th in strikeout rate (22.4%) and 15th in walk rate (9.3%). Those numbers aren’t great, but also aren’t alarming. The team hasn’t gotten that bases-clearing hit to produce the big inning they need. The team finished Thursday’s game 1-for-7 with RISP and left six on base. After Sosa’s single in the second, the team went hitless until the ninth when catcher Matt Thaiss knocked a double to right field.
“Take the positives with the negatives,” first baseman Andrew Vaughn said. “But I think we’ve been great one through nine, taking great at-bats. It’s gonna show.”
However, the results need to happen soon, or the losing streak will continue. Venable said he liked what he saw from the team’s defense and pitching. But he knows he needs to get more out of this offense.
“Just offensively, got to continue to fight and grind and find ways to score runs,” Venable said. “We’re going to continue to go to work … get to go back home and see what we’ve got against Boston.”