The White Sox Blow Another Lead

Last night, newly voted in All-Star Chris Sale was cruising along in the eighth inning. He had allowed just four hits and struck out six. He had not yet allowed a run, but Mookie Betts was on third base after having led off the inning with an infield double (great hustle by Betts to take second when it was left vacant by a wandering second baseman). When Sale reached the heart of the order, Robin Ventura decided to pull him with two outs rather than have him face Pedroia, Ortiz, and company for the fourth time.

That turned out to be a mistake. Jake Petricka failed to record an out. A single, a walk, and two doubles later, the White Sox had allowed three runs before Javy Guerra could end the inning. The White Sox still held a 4-3 lead, but it was tenuous. When Guerra returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth, he recorded only one out before he allowed two runs, including a walk-off single to Brock Holt.

Guerra is the latest in a long line of relievers Ventura has turned to in the ninth inning this season. Before the season, the team traded their closer Addison Reed to the Diamondbacks, and no one has been able to fill his shoes (not that his shoes were that big – Reed was tied for second in the league in blown saves last year). No one reliever on the team has even five blown saves, but collectively, the White Sox have had more trouble closing out their eighth-inning leads than any other team.

The White Sox have lost six games when leading after eight innings this season, which is two more than the Pirates and Athletics. The Pirates attempted to address their late-game woes by trading former closer Jason Grilli to the Angels for Ernesto Frieri, but Mark Melancon had already proven himself to be an effective closer. Meanwhile the Athletics may not have gotten what they expected out of former Orioles’ closer Jim Johnson, but his eventual replacement Sean Doolittle has struck out 61 batters against just two walks this season and can make a strong case as the best closer in baseball.

The teams with the best record with a lead after eight innings employ several elite closers in Koji Uehara of the Red Sox, Craig Kimbrel of the Braves, Aroldis Chapman of the Reds, and Greg Holland of the Royals. The Red Sox are the only team of the bunch to have not yet lost a game they were leading after eight, but they also have the fewest leads after eight in baseball this season. If the Red Sox are the biggest disappointment after their World Series win last year, then the Brewers may be the biggest exceeder of expectations. Part of that success has been closer Francisco Rodriguez, who is enjoying a career resurgence. His 27 saves are tied for the most in baseball, and he has blown just three so far this season.