‘Losing stinks’: Sox drop sixth straight as Grifol doubles down
The White Sox opponent changed from Baltimore to Toronto for Monday afternoon’s contest at Guaranteed Rate Field, but the losing outcome remained the same in a 5-1 loss.
And Pedro Grifol’s terse postgame assessment of the White Sox playing flat as Baltimore swept a four-game set Sunday didn’t change when he was questioned about it prior to the series opener. Grifol stayed with his statement even when apprised some of his players were not in total agreement.
“You know what? I’m doubling down on what I said yesterday, ok?” Grifol said. “I thought we were flat. And that’s where I’m going to leave it. They have their opinions. I have mine. This is not divided by any means. This is not them against Pedro, Pedro against them.
“It’s just a situation. I thought we were flat. They didn’t think we were flat. It’s over. We gotta go out there and play baseball.”
Grifol once again would not specifically go into what flat does or doesn’t look like, adding that everyone who watched Sunday’s loss to the Orioles had their own opinion. It’s ultimately about respecting the uniform and the opportunity to be a Major Leaguer in his mind.
“Obviously everyone in this building has earned the right to be here, but you still gotta earn the right to stay here,” Grifol said. “You can’t take any days off. You can’t.
“Not here. This is the big leagues. And if you want to take days off, then this is not the place to do it. I am even keeled. I’ve been managing for 200 and whatever games. And everybody has that point where [they’re] like, ‘Ok, we gotta turn it up.’ That was yesterday.”
Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish, who finished fourth in the 2023 American League Cy Young vote, no-hit the White Sox for seven innings Sunday. The White Sox knocked out three hits in the first inning alone off Chris Bassitt on Monday, but could not score. They outhit the Blue Jays, 10-6, yet still fell to 15-40 overall, and 1-10 in their last 11 against the AL East.
Their offense finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, unable to get on the board until Gavin Sheets’ solo home run in the eighth.
