White Sox manager Pedro Grifol’s postgame news conference was short and not-so-sweet.
He said pitcher Garrett Crochet “pitched his ass off but that most of the other guys were f—— flat.”
The Sox managed one hit — an eighth-inning solo home run from pinch hitter Danny Mendick — in a 4-1 loss to Baltimore on Sunday in front of an announced crowd of 14,992 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“Flat. Period. Major-league game,” Grifol said. “Gotta respect it. Pretty simple.”
Some players, however, were not buying into that school of thought.
“I’ll let him comment on his statement,” catcher Korey Lee said. “He’s going to feel that way and obviously we have a different feeling. He is entitled to his own opinion also. I think that’s a valid reason. It’s nothing to hide about that. He has his opinions and everyone is going to have their own opinions.”
Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish threw seven no-hit innings and struck out 11 as the Orioles took the four-game sweep. Crochet, who also fanned a career-tying 11 batters in six innings, doesn’t think the team was flat.
“We’re going against one of the best arms in the league,” Crochet said. “He’s got incredible stuff so it’s … I don’t know.
“We just played a stretch against some really good teams. I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to harp on the losses and beat ourselves up too much.”
Added Mendick: “Everything in here between the guys is great. They threw some good arms at us and sometimes it doesn’t go our way. Struggles happen and I think we’re just going to have to keep grinding, keep a positive mindset and then go out there and give it our all (and) see what happens.”
Grifol met with the players after the game but no one specified what was said. The Sox fell to 15-39 and have been swept eight times this season.
Crochet’s performance was a bright spot, even though his streak of 24 1/3 shutout innings was vanquished in the sixth when Adley Rutschman deposited a pitch in the left-field stands for a two-run home run.
“I feel like I was able to mix all four pitches, so it’s been good,” Crochet, now 5-5, said of his recent outings.
Lee admires what Crochet brings to the table.
“He’s been outstanding for us all year,” Lee said. “He’s been throwing strikes he’s been saving our bullpen. He wanted to go out there for his last inning also and it’s nice to see some fight in a pitcher like that.
“He pitched well and put us in a position to win.”
Crochet took a no-hitter into the fourth. After mowing down the first 11 Baltimore hitters, he gave up a double to right to Ryan Mountcastle and a walk to Gunnar Henderson. He struck out Anthony Santander to get out of the inning.
Meanwhile, the Sox are looking for punch in their offense. With Luis Robert Jr. on the mend and third baseman Bryan Ramos returning this weekend, it may take time.
The 22-year-old Ramos returned from a left quad injury but has been 0-for-7 in the past two games.
“It’s kind of normal now,” Ramos said of the injury. “Getting back — putting the weight on it and the timing —I feel good right now.”
Grifol said before the game that he hoped Ramos would relax and play his game.
“Same thing he was doing before,” Grifol said. “Nothing more, nothing less. Just go out there, have some fun, work hard, prepare.
“Understand that in the big scheme of things, this is a small window in life and appreciate this thing every single day. Know where you’re at and just stay focused. Don’t waste at-bats, don’t waste games. Just stay focused.”
Before the game, the Sox claimed 26-year-old left-handed pitcher Sammy Peralta off waivers from Seattle and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. He pitched for the Sox last year and was 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA in 16 relief appearances.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune.
