KANSAS CITY — With a promising group of young starting pitchers, the White Sox are beginning to narrow the margin in their matchups, though wins remain elusive. Each of the first three contests in this series against the Royals has come down to a handful of critical moments — and Wednesday was no exception.
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Jonathan Cannon put together his third consecutive quality start, tossing six innings and surrendering just two runs. Unfortunately, it was a single mistake — a fifth-inning slider that Bobby Witt Jr. crushed for a two-run homer — that ultimately led to the White Sox’s 2-1 loss.
Chicago mounted a late surge in the ninth but couldn't complete the comeback, dropping their 10th straight game at Kauffman Stadium — the longest such skid in franchise history. It was another night of missed opportunities for the Sox, who pitched well enough to win the opener, stumbled due to rare defensive missteps on Tuesday, and once again came up just short on Wednesday due to a couple of missed chances.
“We’re close — we just have to keep pushing,” said manager Will Venable. “The effort is there. We need one more clutch hit, one more key pitch, or a big defensive stop. I’m proud of the fight in this group, but we’ve got to start finishing these games.”
The pivotal moment came when Cannon, after retiring Witt earlier in the game with a runner on base, left a slider in a hittable spot during their third matchup. Witt, the 2024 AL MVP runner-up, made him pay with a 392-foot blast to left.
“In the earlier at-bats, we attacked him inside and it worked,” Cannon explained. “This time he adjusted and took advantage of the pitch.”
Outside of that one pitch, Cannon was sharp and in control through six innings. White Sox starters have now limited Kansas City to just two earned runs or fewer in each of the series' first three games, with Shane Smith and Sean Burke setting the tone in the previous outings. Still, the Sox have dropped all three despite allowing just eight earned runs in that span.
“I liked the way Shane and Sean approached their starts,” said Cannon. “I tried to follow that same blueprint — sticking with the fastball and working with [catcher Matt] Thaiss to keep their hitters guessing. I thought we executed that plan well.”
The White Sox lineup, meanwhile, has struggled to score against a Royals pitching staff that ranks among the league’s best in ERA. Chicago has managed only four runs across the three games. They nearly pulled off a ninth-inning rally on Wednesday when Miguel Vargas, Luis Robert Jr., and Thaiss all reached base against Royals closer Carlos Estevéz, bringing in a run and putting the tying runner in scoring position with no outs. But the rally quickly fizzled.
“We’ve done a great job of pushing late in games and battling closers,” Venable said. “But we need to generate more offense earlier. Still, proud of the way we kept competing.”
Though the Sox came up short again, they showed flashes of the grit needed to stay in games. Cannon and Vargas combined for a slick defensive effort in the fourth, fielding a swinging bunt down the line to keep a run off the board. One standout moment saw Vargas shaken up after getting hit by a shattered bat, but he still completed the 3-1 play from the ground, even as the barrel tore a hole in his sock.
“Vargas made a couple of incredible plays,” Cannon noted. “To take a hit from the bat and still get up to make that out — huge moment for us.”
Still, the loss dropped Chicago to 2-15 in games decided by two runs or fewer. Their rotation is giving them a chance night after night — now, they just need the rest of the team to capitalize.