The White Sox lost two out of three games to the Miami Marlins this past weekend, with all three games being decided in the ninth inning.
Luis Robert Jr.'s walk-off single lifted the Sox to a 2-1 victory on Friday night, but the other two games were losses characterized by bullpen meltdowns.
Joe Kelly gave up five runs (two earned) in the top of the ninth Saturday, turning a 1-0 lead into a 5-1 loss. He was not helped by Tim Anderson's error.
On Sunday, the Sox took a 5-1 lead into the eighth inning, but they lost 6-5. Keynan Middleton, who hadn't allowed a run since April, gave up two solo home runs in the eighth. Kendall Graveman, who also hadn't allowed a run since April, gave up three runs in the ninth and took the loss. He was not helped by a catcher's interference call against Seby Zavala.
That said, I don't feel like the bullpen is the biggest problem for the Sox. Far from it. Before Saturday, the relievers were receiving praise for a lights-out performance. Through the first seven games of June, the Sox bullpen posted 0.78 ERA with a .117 batting average against.
The Sox won six of those seven games, with relievers earning the win in five of those contests. What happened over the weekend is inevitable regression.
Here's something that is not regression: The Sox offense stinks. Despite being 6-3 in June, this team is batting .202/.274/.343 this month. The Sox need more from hitters up and down the lineup, as we detailed last week.
Nothing has changed. The Sox are 29-38.
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