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Levine: Rick Renteria 'Proud' Of White Sox's Fight After Rally Falls Short

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The White Sox showed fight in attempting to rally from an early six-run deficit Thursday night, but they fell 7-6 to the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Minnesota had a 6-0 lead in the second inning. The White Sox ended up knocking out Twins right-hander Phil Hughes before he could get a win.

"We had our guys battling and chipping away," manager Rick Renteria said. "We had opportunities to go ahead or tie. I am very, very proud -- despite the loss -- of the way they battled and competed. That will serve us well going forward."

White Sox left-hander Derek Holland allowed seven runs -- only three earned -- in five innings. The four unearned runs came in the first inning when first baseman Jose Abreu dropped a potential double-play ball throw from second baseman Tyler Saladino.

It opened the floodgates.

"Actually, I like his defense," Renteria said in showing support for Abreu. "There are times like the potential double-play ball that it will fall out of his glove. We talked to him about the mitt that he uses. To be honest, you put another glove on this kid and you see him taking ground balls at second and third (during infield practice). He is a good defender. In that particular moment, the ball got away from him."

Holland took the blame for the loss despite the defensive issues.

"Those guys are going to make the plays," Hollan said. "I still have to make pitches no matter what happens. I know what the situation was but overall I felt it was my fault because I didn't execute the pitches after that. That put us in a bigger hole."

Melky Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning to cut the White Sox's deficit to 7-5, and Matt Davidson followed with a solo homer in the sixth.

The White Sox have now lost five in a row and eight of their last 10. It was the first time Chicago lost when scoring six or more runs.

"We are going to have these up and downs throughout the season," Davidson said. "We kind of have been going the other direction. We want to stop it as we have another series with the Padres coming in."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
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