It was a fitting metaphor for the Chicago White Sox season.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene slid into foul territory down the left field line in pursuit of Chase Meidroth’s third-inning fly ball, then disappeared in a cloud of dust.
When he reappeared, caked in dirt, Greene stood up and showed the ball was firmly in his glove.
Like Greene, the White Sox have also disappeared in front of our eyes.
But whether they would emerge any time soon was a question that lingered Monday after a 13-1 loss to the Tigers on a gorgeous, 84-degree night that drew only 11,852 to Rate Field.
Jonathan Cannon and Bryse Wilson served up a combined five home runs, including three to DH Kerry Carpenter, and the Sox were held to one run on five hits by Jack Flaherty (4-6) and two relievers.
Outmuscled and outhustled, the Sox looked like a team that didn’t belong on the same field as the first-place Tigers, the best team in the majors with a 40-21 record. With an 18-42 record, the new Sox slogan for 2025 might as well be “At Least We’re Not the Rockies.”
Detroit has won 11 straight games at the Rate since Sept. 1, 2023, a franchise-worst losing streak at home against a single team for the Sox. Since that game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is 19-4 against four Sox managers — Miguel Cairo, Pedro Grifol, Grady Sizemore and Will Venable.
The Sox have scored six runs in their four-game losing streak, which began Friday in Baltimore.
Cannon might have to go on the 15-day injured list after he complained of lower back soreness again. He was scratched from a start against the Texas Rangers last homestand with the same back issues, and pitched poorly against the New York Mets in his next outing.
Venable said Cannon would be evaluated Tuesday.
“You can’t speculate with the severity of where he’s at,” Venable said. “He could be totally fine. In that case, we won’t do anything at all.”
For the sake of Cannon’s future, the Sox are likely to take a cautious approach with one of their more valuable young starters.
Cannon (2-7) was knocked out early after putting the Sox in a 5-0 hole after two innings on home runs by Carpenter and Dillon Dingler in the first and Wenceel Pérez in the second. Cannon allowed five runs on four hits and three walks over three innings, throwing 85 pitches. His earned run average has risen almost a full run in his last two losses to the Mets and Tigers, from 3.76 to 4.66.
Cannon admitted the back stiffness was bothering him early on, and he tried to gut it out. The pain could be felt on his follow-through, which he said was why he left some pitches up and had command problems.
“My (velocity) was a little bit down and command was a little bit off,” Cannon said. “Just want to make sure I’m at full health when I go out there.”
Wilson served up Carpenter’s second home run, a two-run shot in the fourth, and his third, a solo shot in the two-run sixth. When Carpenter came up to face Wilson in the eighth for a chance at a record-tying four home runs, Tigers fans began chanting “Ker-ry, Ker-ry, Ker-ry.” Carpenter flied out to center and had to settle for three home runs and five RBI. Venable said Wilson “did a great job” covering innings for the rest of the series.
Sox infielder Vinny Capra pitched a perfect ninth, so stopping the Tigers’ attack was not impossible.
The Tigers added to the Sox’s misery with several defensive gems. A Josh Palacios’ foul ball near the Sox dugout in the fifth glanced off the glove of Dingler, the catcher, and was scooped up by third baseman Zach McKinstry for the rare 2-5 putout. Shortstop Javier Báez made a diving stop of Vinny Capra’s grounder in the sixth and threw Capra out from his knees.
Sox fans were so apathetic they even neglected to boo Báez, a longtime villain on the South Side since his Cubs days. Báez even gave the Tigers credit for the nice weather, saying it arrived in town along with his team’s good “vibes.”
After Monday’s fiasco by the Sox, does anyone really doubt Báez?
