The Chicago White Sox want last weekend’s three-game sweep of the host Tampa Bay Rays to be a sign of better things to come and not a momentary aberration. There have been fleeting moments earlier this season when the Sox showed signs of life, only to revert to the team that has struggled in all phases of the game.
With a victory over the Kansas City Royals before meeting the Rays, the Sox came into Monday’s game with the visiting New York Yankees with a four-game winning streak. Victories have been in short supply for the Sox this season! Through Sunday the Sox held a record of 41-70, seven games ahead of last place Kansas City in the American League Central and only 5½ games behind third place Detroit.
All three Sox victories over Tampa Bay were one-run games: 3-2 in 10 innings; 2-1; and, 8-7, the latter on Daniel Palka’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning. The Rays had been playing well at home with a 20-5 record prior to playing the White Sox.
The Sox folded Monday when the Yankees won, 7-0.
After going through a mid-season slump that saw his batting average go from .319 to .251, Jose Abreu has shown improvement. In each of the three games against the Rays, Abreu was two-for-four. Abreu, who hit a home run in the first two games of the series, left the Tampa Bay area with a batting average of .270.
Since the July 17 all-star game, the White Sox played 16 games through Sunday, and with the sweep of Tampa Bay, the team’s record was 8-8.
Prior to last weekend, the last time the Sox swept a series was August 2017 when the Sox won all three from the visiting Houston Astros, ultimately the World Series champions last year.
Sox starter James Shields gave up two earned runs in six innings Sunday against Tampa Bay and was in line for the victory had relief pitching held up. It didn’t and it was a no decision for Shields.