ESPN

Doug Padilla recaps the White Sox and looks at what changes might be in store for 2014.

A group that played defense as well as anybody in 2012 was nowhere near that good just one year later. Kevin Youkilis came to the White Sox during the 2012 season and settled the left side of the infield. This year, Jeff Keppinger was unable to take control of the third-base spot, while Conor Gillaspie showed flashes of solid defense early but wasn't able to maintain it. On the right side, Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko both spent lengthy stays on the disabled list with injuries.

The good: When he was healthy, Beckham showed that he could be ready to be much more consistent at the plate, but that star potential that was being talked about when he broke into the league no longer is mentioned. When Gillaspie was acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants in spring training, he looked like a solid left-handed bat off the bench. He showed that if he continues to develop he can be much more than that. He admitted early that defense has never been his strength, but showed enough solid plays to make it clear that he should get better in that area. Nobody was touting Joe Crede as a solid defender either and he developed into a steady, if not spectactular, fielder.

The bad: It was obvious to see the defensive miscues on the infield that spelled doom for the White Sox, like Alexei Ramirez's 22 errors, which led all American League shortstops. The real issue is that nobody on the infield rose to the occasion offensively. Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn started all but 16 games at first base and yet White Sox first basemen finished ninth in the American League in home runs with 23 and 12th in RBIs with 77. Their 62 runs scored were 13th. At second base, the White Sox had a .306 on-base percentage, 11th in the AL, while at shortstop (essentially Ramirez), they were 12th in RBIs with 51. The biggest trouble spot was at third base where the 60 runs scored were 13th in the AL and the .287 on-base percentage was 12th. The White Sox only had 15 home runs from their third basemen, but four teams (Royals, Twins, Yankees and Angels) were actually worse.

Who's next: Marcus Semien was impressive as a September call-up and could push Gillaspie for playing time at third base next season. Keppinger is expected to revert back to his expected role of utility man. Could the White Sox be interested in trading Beckham this offseason? And if they do, what could they get in return for him? Semien, a natural shortstop, also has a little second base on his resume, while Keppinger can play there as well. If the free agent Konerko doesn't return, Dunn is expected to take over at first base full time.

2014 outlook: It doesn't seem like it can get any worse for the White Sox, but that's not just the story of the infield, that pertains to the entire roster. More is needed from Ramirez offensively and defensively. Early in his career, Ramirez was pushing his way into Gold Glove talk. At this point, the White Sox would be satisfied if he simply got his defense back to the middle of the pack.

CHICAGO -- The White Sox snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the next-to-last game of the season.


How it happened: The White Sox flexed their muscles Saturday to get the jump on the Royals. Marcus Semien and Jordan Danks hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and Adam Dunn hit a two-run shot in the third. The Royals rallied for three runs off White Sox rookie pitcher Erik Johnson, but the power returned in the seventh inning when Conor Gillaspie hit a two-run shot. Addison Reed recorded his 40th save, tying Bobby Jenks for fourth place on the White Sox's single-season list.

What it means: The victory guarantees the White Sox won’t lose 100 games this season. Manager Robin Ventura at least sounded indifferent about avoiding the century mark. “Nobody wants that, 100 losses,” he said. “It doesn’t feel good. But it’s not going to make me feel any better to have 99 instead of 100 going into next year.”

Outside the box: The sample size is extremely small, but Johnson continues to show reasons to be optimistic about him heading into next season. He held the Royals hitless Saturday until Mike Moustakas hit a fifth-inning home run. He was eventually knocked from the game an inning later. Saturday’s outing comes on the heels of his start last weekend at Detroit, when he gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings. One outing before that he pitched a scoreless six innings against the Twins.

Off beat: Avoiding a 100-loss season might not have made Ventura feel good, but it certainly seemed to affect his decision-making Saturday. Ventura went to six different relievers to back up Johnson, managing like his team was in contention instead of just playing out the string.

Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Jose Quintana (9-6, 3.45 ERA) to the mound in the final game of the season. The Royals will counter with left-hander Bruce Chen (8-4, 3.31) in the 1:10 p.m. start from U.S. Cellular Field.

CHICAGO -- Bad defense has been one of the major reasons for the Chicago White Sox's tough season in 2013.

Four errors helped bring the team down in a 9-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. The four miscues gave the Sox a major league-high 108 for the season. The continuous bad fielding has been perplexing for manager Robin Ventura and his staff. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie became the first Sox player in seven years to make three errors in one game.

The team has given up 70 unearned runs, including five Tuesday. Gillaspie said that immediately forgetting about this game will be a difficult task.

"It will be a little tough for me," he said. "Knowing my personality, it is a little tough to deal with right now. In a day or two, I won't even remember it happened. I can honestly say that is the worst I ever felt. I can really say that there haven't been too many days when I am hoping the ball doesn't get hit [to me]. Tonight was one of those nights."

Ventura had the best defensive team in the American League in 2012. Last year's club made a league-low 88 errors. As this year has progressed, the defense has gotten worse. Chicago has made 17 miscues in the past 10 games. Ventura, a five-time Gold Glove winner, understood how Gillaspie felt.

"I know how much he cares," Ventura said. "I had nights that were just like it. It is a rough one to take on, but I know he will come back and his effort and competitiveness will be there. It is one thing if he didn't care, but I know he cares a lot. He is just going to have to get over it. [I know] it will not be easy, but he will come back around. Everybody has a night like that."

The previous White Sox player to make three errors in a game was Andy Gonzalez on Aug. 30, 2007, against Texas. The 16 errors the team has made in September are the most in baseball.

CHICAGO -- After two major league starts, the Chicago White Sox still won’t pass judgment on right-hander Erik Johnson.

It’s hard to get a proper read on a pitcher when the defense keeps letting you down. Miscues galore Tuesday left Johnson with six runs allowed, but only two runs were earned over 3 2/3 innings in an eventual 9-1 defeat to the Detroit Tigers.

The White Sox made four errors, three by third baseman Conor Gillaspie.

In his major league debut last week at Yankee Stadium, Johnson gave up five runs, but only three were earned.

“Yeah, it’s hard to sit there and assess that,” said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. “When you’re playing clean behind him, it could be a different story. It’s hard to judge. But, again, some of the swings guys are having against him, it looks pretty good.”

Johnson’s minor league numbers certainly suggest a pitcher with plenty of promise, and two defense-challenged outings in the major leagues won’t detract from that. He went a combined 12-3 during 24 starts between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte, posting a 1.96 ERA.

Those numbers, and not the two rocky outings over a six-day stretch with the White Sox, are the reason he is expected to compete for a rotation spot at spring training next year.

“He threw fine,” Ventura said. “We didn’t help him at all, but he was fine. Pitch count-wise -- if we’re making a few plays here and there -- it’s probably a different story. [Tigers starter Rick] Porcello, he kind of scattered his hits. For Detroit, they bunched together and scored some runs and it was ugly.”

Pitching, though, isn’t always about being set up under the ideal conditions, and Johnson knows he could have been better when the heat started to rise.

“I had some tough breaks out there, but I thought I attacked the zone as best I could,” he said. “I thought I could have worked ahead of a few more hitters, of course, and put myself in a better situation.”

Despite leaving in the fourth inning, Johnson still threw 96 pitches while facing 23 batters. By comparison, the White Sox bullpen faced 24 batters over 5 1/3 innings, throwing 74 pitches.

“Being more efficient is always a goal of the starting pitcher,” Johnson said. “Go as far as you can for as long as you can. Tonight that wasn’t the case.”

Assuming the six-man rotation remains in place, Johnson will get another shot to reveal his true identity Monday at home against the Minnesota Twins.

CHICAGO -- Finally elevated enough to be able to look down at rock bottom, the Chicago White Sox were able lament Wednesday's missed opportunities against the Detroit Tigers while still knowing that a better brand of baseball has arrived.

The White Sox just completed their first winning homestand in three months, and while it might not prove that things are permanently on the rise, it is finally a sign that the club wasn't as bad as their recent 10-game losing streak, and 13 defeats in 14 games suggested.

Bottoming out never is a graceful thing to do, and the healing process can have its issues as well, but in going 6-4 in the last 10 home games, the White Sox look to be in a better place, even though they lost four veterans in trades and, more recently, just left 15 runners on base in a 6-4 defeat to the Tigers on Wednesday.

"It's kind of a different team right now," manager Robin Ventura said. "We have some new players and it becomes a different mix of who you're playing. It's good. It's good they're starting out this way."

(Read full post)

CHICAGO – Despite 14 hits, the Chicago White Sox fell 6-4 to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series and 10-game homestand.

How it happened: The White Sox jumped on the Tigers with first inning runs but couldn’t hold the lead to finish off a three-game sweep. The Tigers tied it in the third inning on a three-run home run from Miguel Cabrera and then scored three more times in the eighth inning to go ahead for good. John Danks went 7 1/3 innings, giving up six runs, but only four of them were earned. The White Sox scored their first-inning runs on an Avisail Garcia infield single, a sacrifice fly from Jeff Keppinger and a single form Conor Gillaspie. The White Sox left 15 runners on base, including at least two runners on base in six separate innings.

What it means: Just when things were improving on defense, it has all started to crumble again in a matter of days. Gillaspie had two errors Wednesday at third base a day after Alexei Ramirez had three errors at shortstop. The White Sox entered Tuesday’s game with just one error in their previous 11 games, maintaining an eight-game errorless streak during that stretch.

Outside the box: Despite the defeat, the White Sox went 6-4 on their just-completed 10-game homestand. The last time the White Sox had a winning homestand was May 20-27 when they went 5-3 in games against the Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins and the Cubs. One game of that homestand against the Cubs was rained out.

Off beat: Cabrera can still hit it far, but with a bad left hip, he can’t run a lick. So when he hit a ground ball into the hole at shortstop in the seventh inning he merely hobbled up the line. Ramirez, in an effort to atone for his three errors Tuesday, made a sliding stop on the ball, rose to his feet, set himself slowly and threw across the diamond for the out. All Cabrera could do as he reached first base was applaud the play. In the ninth inning, Ramirez took away another potential Cabrera hit by sliding to his left for the stop. Cabrera merely stared Ramirez down after that play.

Up next: The White Sox will send right-hander Andre Rienzo (0-0, 4.42 ERA) to the mound Thursday at Minnesota in the opener of a four-game series. The Twins will counter with right-hander Mike Pelfrey (7-11, 2.77) in the 7:10 p.m. start from Target Field.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox fell 5-2 to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday to drop to 3-9 against their American League Central rival this season.

How it happened: White Sox starter Jose Quintana was cruising right along until he was run off the road in the fifth inning by a three-run home run from Brian Dozier and a two-run shot by Joe Mauer. The White Sox’s offense was held in check by Twins starter Kevin Correia, who gave up just five hits in seven innings. Adam Dunn ended the shutout bid in the ninth inning with his 27th home run and 14th long ball over his last 55 games. Conor Gillaspie added another home run in the ninth inning, his 10th.

What it means: Quintana moved past the 140-inning mark for the first time as a major leaguer. The left-hander had 136 1/3 major league innings in his debut as a starter last season. He is now at 143 1/3 with his five innings Sunday. Quintana had been rolling along of late, allowing just four earned runs combined in his last four home starts, but the Twins topped that in one inning with their five-run fifth.

Outside the box: Going back to Tuesday’s game against the New York Yankees, White Sox pitchers had struck out 10 or more batters in five consecutive games. That streak came to a halt when nine Twins struck out Sunday. The 10 strikeouts in five consecutive games was the White Sox’s longest such streak since they ended the 2011 season on a similar five-game streak.

Off beat: Paul Konerko is chasing one stationary target and one moving target on the all-time home run list. The White Sox captain is one home run away from moving into a tie for 43rd place all time at 432 career home runs with Cal Ripken Jr. Teammate Adam Dunn moved out of a tie with Ripken on Sunday with his 433rd home run. Konerko is also 24 home runs behind Frank Thomas for the most in White Sox history.

Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Chris Sale (7-11, 2.77 ERA) to the mound Monday against Detroit in the opener of a three-game series. The Tigers will counter with right-hander Doug Fister (10-5, 3.50) in the 7:10 p.m. start from U.S. Cellular Field.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox snapped a five-game losing streak against the Minnesota Twins with a 5-4 victory Saturday.

How it happened: The White Sox overcame a rocky third inning in which the Twins scored four times, and won for just the third time this season against their division rival. Chicago rallied in the sixth inning, tying the game on Blake Tekotte’s sacrifice fly and going ahead on an RBI single from Conor Gillaspie. Andre Rienzo started, giving up four runs in 5 1/3 innings, while four relievers locked down the victory, capped by Addison Reed’s 28th save. The White Sox won it when Alejandro De Aza hauled in Oswaldo Arcia's drive at the base of the left-field wall.

What it means: While there remains plenty to like about Rienzo, his home debut lacked polish as the rookie right-hander walked five in his 5 1/3 innings of work. He was tagged with a pair of long fourth-inning home runs from Justin Morneau (three-run shot) and Arcia. The right-hander still has a respectable 2.95 ERA in the first three outings of his career, but he also has 11 walks in 18 1/3 innings.

Outside the box: By beating the Twins, the White Sox now have their 20th victory since May 26. That was the day they completed a sweep of the Miami Marlins to even their record at 24-24. The problem is Chicago has lost 47 times since then, and its .299 win percentage since that date is the worst in baseball.

Offbeat: The 5 o’clock hour struck again at U.S. Cellular Field as the setting sun caused some problems. It's long been considered a tough hour to play at U.S. Cellular Field, and the left fielders of both teams had trouble a half-inning apart. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Arcia fought the sun to catch an Alexei Ramirez line drive and prevent the White Sox from building their lead. In the top of the seventh, Tekotte moved to his left on a ball that ended up being well over his head and off the wall for an Arcia double.

Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Jose Quintana (6-3, 3.51 ERA) to the mound Sunday in the finale of the four-game series. The Twins will counter with right-hander Kevin Correia (7-8, 4.84) in the 1:10 p.m. CT start from U.S. Cellular Field.

CHICAGO – Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura played around with the lineup Saturday and not all changes were directly related to Alex Rios’ departure via trade one day earlier.

Alexei Ramirez was in the No. 3 spot for the second consecutive game, which was Rios’ old spot, but Gordon Beckham was in the leadoff spot for just the second time this season as Alejandro De Aza was given the day off. Conor Gillaspie batted second for the first time.

Newcomer Avisail Garcia also got his first start, playing in center field while batting sixth.

“Going forward, once you don’t have Rios here, things start moving around a little bit more than before just because of changes and personnel,” Ventura said. “As of right now, it’s there. It’s subject to change obviously.”

Garcia, who said he has no preference of where he plays in the outfield, was back in center field. It will be his 27th major league game in center. He has played 24 games in right and five in left.

“There is a different element to it that you have some younger guys up here that you can move around and just see what they can do,” Ventura said. “This is a process of moving forward that you’re kind of assessing more things than you were before.”

Causing even more of a lineup shuffle was the fact that Dayan Viciedo was a late scratch for the second consecutive day with a sore left thumb.

Saturday’s final lineup against Minnesota Twins right-hander Mike Pelfrey:

1. Beckham, 2B
2. Gillaspie, 3B
3. Ramirez, SS
4. Adam Dunn, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. Garcia, CF
7. John Danks, RF
8. Josh Phegley, C
9. Blake Tekotte, LF

Andre Rienzo pitches.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox made it consecutive victories over the New York Yankees, grinding their way to a 3-2 triumph Tuesday.

How it happened: Chris Sale won for just the second time since the start of June, as he gave up one run on five hits over 7 1/3 innings. The White Sox emerged from a 1-0 hole in the first inning, getting an RBI single from Conor Gillaspie in the fourth inning, an RBI fielder's choice from Paul Konerko in the sixth and an RBI double from Alejandro De Aza in the seventh. After ending a 10-game losing streak Monday, the White Sox now have consecutive victories for the first time since they defeated the Atlanta Braves in back-to-back games July 20 and 21. Addison Reed gave up a run in the ninth inning but finished off his 27th save in 32 chances.

What it means: Sale was once again doing things that Sale does, although this time he got some support from his teammates. Actually, it wasn't a lot of run support but it was good enough to give Sale the victory Tuesday, just his seventh in 21 starts. The All-Star left-hander entered with a major league-low 2.47 runs of support per outing. It has been so bad for Sale this year that he has taken a loss four times when pitching at least eight innings while allowing three earned runs or less.

Outside the box: Going back a few years, White Sox starting pitching has the Yankees' number. When Sale gave up one run over 7 1/3 innings, it was the White Sox's 10th quality start against the Yankees over the past 12 games between the teams. White Sox starters own a combined 2.60 ERA over that stretch.

Off beat: It was like his old days in a Yankees uniform when Alfonso Soriano used his speed to score all the way from second base on a first-inning wild pitch. What really aided Soriano was the fact that White Sox catcher Josh Phegley couldn't locate the ball that had rebounded toward the White Sox's dugout. It was actually a speedy trip around the bases for Soriano, who reached first base when the White Sox couldn't turn a double play and then stole second.

Next: The White Sox will send left-hander Hector Santiago (3-7, 3.28 ERA) to the mound Wednesday in the finale of the three-game series. The Yankees will counter with left-hander CC Sabathia (9-10, 4.78) in the 7:10 p.m. start from U.S. Cellular Field.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox defense showed Tuesday that it hasn’t hit rock bottom just yet.

One of the worst defenses in baseball committed a season-high four errors in a 6-2 defeat to the Detroit Tigers.

Conor Gillaspie, Adam Dunn, Dayan Viciedo and Alex Rios all were credited with errors, while Alexei Ramirez nearly lost the handle on a popup in the ninth inning.

“A lineup like that, you just can’t play like that and expect to be in the game,” said manager Robin Ventura said, who was ejected in the first inning and was spared from watching the carnage from the dugout. “You give them that many opportunities and you’re going to pay for it.”

(Read full post)

CHICAGO -- In their first home game of the season against their division rivals, the Chicago White Sox fell 7-3 on Monday to the Detroit Tigers.

How it happened: In the duel between All-Stars, the Tigers’ Max Scherzer got the best of the White Sox’s Chris Sale. Scherzer gave up just four hits, two of them home runs by Dayan Viciedo and Conor Gillaspie. Sale gave up seven hits with three walks, while giving up an RBI single to Prince Fielder, a two-RBI single to Victor Martinez, and a home run to Torii Hunter. The Tigers padded their lead with three runs off the bullpen in the ninth inning.

What it means: Sale didn’t win the battle, but in facing the Tigers' offense he clearly had a higher degree of difficulty than Scherzer did facing the White Sox. Sale took on all challenges head-on and seemed to be upset over the fact that he was asked to walk Miguel Cabrera intentionally in the fifth inning. Cabrera eventually scored on Martinez’s single, but last season's Triple Crown winner left the game later in the inning with a hip flexor strain.

Outside the box: Sale had 11 strikeouts, the fifth time this season he has struck out 10 or more. It's the ninth time over the past two seasons he has reached double digits in strikeouts. Sale has 142 strikeouts this year. He entered leading all American League left-handers in strikeouts and was second among lefties in all of baseball.

Off beat: Make that three more errors for the White Sox, whose defense saved them on Sunday but embarrassed them a day later. In the ninth inning, the White Sox made a pair of errors in rapid succession. First, reliever Ramon Troncoso had trouble fielding Hernan Perez's bunt. Moments later, catcher Josh Phegley had Brayan Pena picked off second base, but Alexei Ramirez threw the ball away while trying to start a rundown and Pena scored.

Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Hector Santiago (3-5, 3.30 ERA) to the mound Tuesday in the second game of the four-game series. The Tigers will counter with right-hander Rick Porcello (6-6, 4.80) in the 7:10 p.m. start from U.S. Cellular Field.

DETROIT -- Just one night after ending their seven-game losing streak to the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago White Sox were back to their same old losing ways against their AL Central rivals, dropping an 8-5 decision Wednesday night at Comerica Park.

How it happened: The Tigers scored all eight of their runs with two outs, scoring twice in the first, once in the second, twice in the third and then their final three times in the sixth. And after keeping Detroit's middle part of its order -- Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez -- in check in the series opener, that foursome combined for 11 hits, five RBIs and six runs in Wednesday's win. On Tuesday, they combined to drive in just two runs with four hits and scored two runs. The White Sox did have the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but closer Joaquin Benoit got Alexei Ramirez to ground out to end the game. Chicago's Conor Gillaspie and Gordon Beckham each hit solo homers.

What it means: White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Axelrod has been accustomed to giving up the long ball all season, and Wednesday was no different. Axelrod gave up a two-run shot to Fielder in the first inning. He now has given up at least one home run in each of his last six starts and a team-high 18 for the season, including 11 in his last six starts.

Outside the box: Axelrod also continues to give up earned runs at an alarming rate. After giving up seven earned runs Wednesday, the White Sox's starter has now given up 29 earned runs over his past six starts. He also gave up 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. It's the most hits he has given up in a game all season. His earned run average has ballooned to 5.33 since his start on June 5 when it was 3.73.

Off beat: Alex Rios is human after all. After tying an American League record with six hits in a nine-inning game Tuesday, the Tigers got Rios to ground out to shortstop in his first at-bat Wednesday. He followed that up with back-to-back strikeouts and then a groundout to second base to end his evening 0-for-4 at the plate.

Up next: Chicago wraps up its first three-game series of the season with Detroit by sending left-hander Chris Sale (5-8, 2.78 ERA) to the mound Thursday. The Tigers' scheduled starter is right-hander Anibal Sanchez (7-5, 2.70) in the 12:05 p.m. CST start time at Comerica Park.

CHICAGO -- Despite a rash of injuries this season, captain Paul Konerko won’t make any excuses for the way the Chicago White Sox have played.

Konerko, who just landed on the disabled list Wednesday because of back tightness, suggested it was the team’s lackluster play for a 33-48 record at the halfway point and not the revolving door that has become the disabled list, with guys such as himself, Jake Peavy, Dayan Viciedo, Gordon Beckham, John Danks and Gavin Floyd spending time on it, just to name a few.

“Actually, I think we haven’t been that unlucky,” Konerko said, moments after also saying the regression in his back injury is probably worse than when it flared up in the first place. “We’ve had a couple injuries, but if you match us up against any team, I don’t think we’ve been any more injured.”

Indeed, teams like the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets might scoff at the White Sox’s injury “woes,” but with the way the White Sox were built at maximum salary and without a deep farm system, covering for injuries was going to be harder than it would be for others.

“We’ve had some guys nicked up here and there, and there was a little stretch early but -- Beck went down for a while, Viciedo went down for a while and I’m down here a little -- I think if you look at any other team, you’d find the same situations,” Konerko said.

Hector Santiago and Dylan Axelrod have had nice moments covering for injured White Sox starters and their combined ERA (in starts only) is a serviceable 4.10. The Beckham injury opened the door for Conor Gillaspie to prove himself.

But healthy and effective starters such as Danks and Peavy all season, not to mention Floyd, were what the White Sox were expecting. And with the improvements Beckham has shown, his offense for the entire season could have helped to make things at least a little better.

Ultimately, the White Sox will never know what would have happened with a healthy roster. At the rate their struggles mounted, it still might have not made a difference in a season that got off on the wrong track and still has yet to recover.

Now the White Sox are looking at unloading assets while going into a rebuilding mode of undetermined levels, something that manager Robin Ventura is prepared to handle even if it wasn’t what he hoped for this year.

Ventura was asked if he was ready to handle a managing situation that was more about teaching without the same emphasis on winning.

“I don’t know if there is ever less emphasis on winning, but I get what you’re saying as far as having younger guys and being more of a teaching thing,” Ventura said. “It’s part of the job. We do that here, it’s just that you’re dealing with guys who are probably more advanced with what you’re teaching them. All these guys, even the staff, they have been around and been in situations where they can do that. If that’s the challenge, then that’s what you do. But right now, you’re dealing with these guys.”

CHICAGO – The losses continue to mount as the Chicago White Sox fell 4-3 to the Cleveland Indians on Saturday to drop a season-high 14 games under .500 at 32-46.

How it happened: Reliever Jesse Crain gave up an earned run for the first time in 31 innings, and it ended up costing the White Sox. The Indians went ahead for good in the eighth inning on Nick Swisher’s RBI single to center field. Conor Gillaspie and Dayan Viciedo had RBI hits in the fifth inning to give the White Sox the lead before the Indians’ Jason Kipnis tied it with a two-run home run in the sixth inning. Kipnis has reached base 11 times in the first three games of the series.

What it means: Crain still figures to retain plenty of trade value despite the end of his earned-run scoreless streak, which began, oddly enough, after he gave up an earned run to the Indians on April 12. Crain did have his 30-appearance scoreless streak snapped last weekend, but those runs were unearned. Crain’s ERA jumped from 0.50 to 0.74 after the Indians scored Saturday. A total of 34 of his 38 outings this season have been scoreless.

Outside the box: Nate Jones’ resurgence continued with a scoreless inning Saturday. He is now 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 21 strikeouts over his past 12 appearances. An ERA that was once up to 7.04 was lowered to 4.39. Jones doesn’t figure to be off limits when it comes to trade talks, but the White Sox are expected to do everything to keep a pitcher who is not only young and affordable, but has the potential to be a closer down the road.

Offbeat: There was no denying the hustle from Viciedo on Saturday, one day after he was pulled from a game. In Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader, Viciedo failed to score from second base on a two-out single to center field, slowing down between third base and home plate. He was replaced immediately and was not in the starting lineup for the second game. On Saturday, he made a diving catch in left field in the first inning and another diving/rolling effort to end the top of the third. He also had three hits.

Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Chris Sale (5-6, 2.75 ERA) to the mound Sunday in the series finale. He will be opposed by Indians right-hander Justin Masterson (9-6, 3.76 ERA) in the 1:10 p.m. start from U.S. Cellular Field.