Levine: White Sox's Hopes Crushed In Extra-Inning Loss
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three times the Kansas City Royals had a lead, and three times the feisty Chicago White Sox came back to tie the game Saturday.
The end result, however, was yet another big win for Kansas City and a hard-to-take loss for Chicago, which is fighting for the right as a team not to be blown up by upper management.
The Royals entered Saturday 47-0 when holding a lead after eight innings, seemingly leaving the White Sox with little hope late. But J.B. Shuck's double to score two runs off of closer Greg Holland extended the game into extra innings.
The Royals had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning on White Sox lefty Jose Quintana. Chicago fought back with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to give Jeremy Guthrie his sixth no-decision of the season.
Alexei Ramirez's solo home run in the seventh tied the game for the second time before Kansas City posted a two-spot in the eighth to take its third lead of the game. After the ninth-inning drama, the Royals would need a solo home run in the 13th to finally take the third game of this four-game series. Lorenzo Cain hit a solo home run off reliever Dan Jennings for the hard-fought 7-6 victory.
Jennings had to pitch a career-high 3 2/3 innings due to the bullpen having been used early and the fact that Chicago was working with a shortened bullpen staff this weekend. Jennings admitted he was out of gas in the last frame of the game.
"It was pretty evident," he said. "Guys behind me were making great plays, that is what helped fuel me into the last inning. I felt like I could keep going with that support."
The White Sox are up against the trading deadline clock. The team bosses must decide to add or subtract from a team that has failed to live up to preseason prognostications. This fact remains unproven after adding some big pieces through free agency and trades.
"Our guys battled despite being down all day," drained manager Robin Ventura said after the crushing loss. "We did chip away but couldn't find that one to go ahead. We battled as I said, but we just got beat."
The saving grace for the White Sox is dominant starter Chris Sale going in the finale of the series on Sunday for the worn-out Chicago club.
"Right now I see a team that is competing and playing its best baseball of the season," said catcher Geovany Soto, who just missed a walk-off home run in the 12th inning. "We are grinding and battling and coming back from being behind. You can see the fight in this team. You are going to continue to see it."
Soto and his teammates better hope the club's bosses see it the same way as the players do, with the season beginning to get too far down the road to recover from a bad start.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
