By any objective measure, the White Sox just completed their most impressive homestand of the season -- and maybe their most impressive homestand in several years.
They won both games of a rain-shortened series against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, and they took two out of three from the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
That's a 4-1 record against perhaps the two best teams in baseball. The Sox are 20-4 in their last 24 home games. They've beaten good teams, bad teams and mediocre teams during that stretch. The vibes are good at Rate Field.
Too bad the good vibes aren't traveling with the Sox, who had a rough start to a six-game road trip Tuesday night. The New York Yankees, who have the best record in the American League, stomped the Sox, 12-2 in the Bronx.
The Sox are 24-12 at home, which pencils out to an outstanding .667 winning percentage. But after this latest loss, they are 14-21 on the road -- a .400 winning percentage. Not great.
What's the difference? Run prevention.
At home, the Sox have a team ERA of 3.41. On the road, they entered Tuesday's play with a 5.30 ERA. After this debacle with the Yankees, that figure is up to 5.49, if my math is correct.
The defense isn't helping. Tuesday's third inning was a case in point. The game was tied at 1 through two innings, and there were no signs that the Sox were in any sort of trouble. But it spiraled very quickly after back-to-back misplays.
It all started when New York catcher J.C. Escarra beat a shifted defense with a check-swing roller into left field. Escarra stretched the single into a double, but he should have been out at second base. Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci got the ball to second base in time, but Chase Meidroth missed the tag.
Anthony Volpe followed with what looked like a routine grounder to Meidroth, but for some reason, Sox first baseman Jacob Gonzalez forgot to the cover the bag. It was ruled an "infield single."
There should have been two outs and nobody on. Instead, the Yankees had runners on first and third with nobody out. By the time that inning was over, Sox pitcher Davis Martin (9-3) had thrown 40 pitches, and the Yankees led 5-1.
New York tacked on six more runs in the fourth inning against a tiring and flustered Martin and reliever Chris Murphy, and the rout was on.
By no means is Martin without blame in this situation. He had given up three home runs in 13 starts and 78.1 innings prior to Tuesday's game. In this start, he gave up three homers in 3.1 innings. His ERA swelled from 2.41 to 3.31. It was brutal, and a poor outing on the big stage in the Bronx (perhaps wrongfully) weakens his case to make the All-Star team.
But it all started with bad defense. On the road, against good offenses, in tough environments, you can't afford to give an opponent five outs in an inning. The Sox have done that a fair amount away from home this season, and it's contributing to the bad road record.
That said, the Sox are 38-33, and they remain percentage points ahead of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central race. They are weathering this difficult stretch of schedule against elite teams nicely. You just hope to see a crisper performance Wednesday night.
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