SAN FRANCISCO — Brooks Baldwin squared around, looking to advance runners in the third inning of Monday’s game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
The Chicago White Sox second baseman placed a perfect bunt between the mound and home plate and beat pitcher Kyle Harrison’s throw to first. The hit loaded the bases for the Sox with no outs.
With the top of the order due up, the Sox appeared to be in serious business. But Harrison struck out Lenyn Sosa and Luis Robert Jr’s hard-hit grounder turned into an inning-ending double play.
The Sox also came up empty an inning later, failing to score after back-to-back singles by Andrew Vaughn and Korey Lee to begin the fourth.
Those missed opportunities eventually haunted the Sox in a 5-3 loss to the Giants.
“We did a good job getting guys on base and making them work, had some good swings,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “The balls were right at them.”
The Giants were able to get a few to drop during a momentum-shifting fifth. They strung together five consecutive hits during the four-run inning to take control in the opener of a three-game series.
Sox starter Jonathan Cannon allowed five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
“It comes down to the execution in those situations there,” Cannon said. “I don’t know if anyone saw more than two pitches that (fifth) inning. They were just going up there swinging. I have to put that in the back of my head.
“I threw a couple pitches that should have been chase pitches, threw them in the zone they were able to get a bat on it because they were going up there ready to swing. Credit them, they went up with a good game plan, I have to be better about noticing that in the moment and adjusting accordingly.”
Cannon escaped a jam in the fourth, getting Matt Chapman to flyout to right fielder Dominic Fletcher to end the inning as the Giants stranded runners on second and third.
The Sox broke the scoreless tie in the fifth when Baldwin walked, stole second and scored on a Luis Robert Jr. single.
But that lead didn’t last long.
Thairo Estrada and Grant McCray singled with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Curt Casali drove in a run with a single to center, tying the score.
Tyler Fitzgerald gave the Giants the lead with an RBI double to left. LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a hard grounder that a diving Vaughn couldn’t secure at first base for a run-scoring infield hit. The fourth run of the inning scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Heliot Ramos.
“For most of the game, I thought my stuff was good, my sweeper was a lot better today,” Cannon said. “I just made some mistakes and they had some hits fall. But after we score that run, (I) have to throw up a zero.
“That’s a huge momentum killer to give up a four spot there. I have to bear down and get out of that. Some of them were cheap hits but they weren’t great pitches either so it works both ways.”
Cannon surrendered a solo home run to Chapman in the sixth.
The Sox rallied for two in the eighth thanks to a sacrifice fly to left by Miguel Vargas and an RBI single to center by pinch hitter Gavin Sheets. But Tyler Rogers struck out pinch hitter Andrew Benintendi with two on and two outs to keep the score at 5-3.
The Sox had another chance with two outs in the ninth when Nicky Lopez and Robert moved to third and second, respectively, on a passed ball. Lee lined out to center to end the game.
“They had that big inning and we battled back and had the winning run at the plate and tying run at second but came up a little short,” Fletcher said.
The Sox went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base while losing for the 32 time in their last 36 games.
At 30-96, the Sox are 66 games under .500 for the first time in franchise history.
“We had good at-bats all night, put pressure on, getting guys on,” Sizemore said. “Just got to keep working, keep executing. Even though we got down, we kept fighting, kept clawing back. Getting some big hits late, pinch-hit hits.
“Just a good game, good game all around. Keep playing like that and good things will happen.”