The White Sox blew a ninth-inning lead against the Royals on Monday and with the loss Chicago was mathematically eliminated from the postseason.
White Sox mathematically eliminated from MLB playoffs
Third-year manager Robin Ventura sees his White Sox miss the playoffs for the sixth year in a row, as Chicago was mathematically eliminated from postseason eligibility on Monday.
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago was teetering on the edge of elimination and would have needed a miracle run, but it appeared it was going to survive at least another day. But Jake Petricka was unable to hold the lead in the ninth and the Royals comeback sealed Chicago’s fate.
Chicago was buoyed early in the season by American League Rookie of the Year shoo-in and MVP candidate Jose Abreu, who is hitting .323 with 35 home runs and 102 RBI. The White Sox were at .500 (33-33) as late as June 11, but a swoon of 11 losses in 14 games dropped them into the lower half of the standings. With 82 losses, Chicago is assured a losing season, snapping an eight-year string of alternating winning and losing years in even and odd years, respectively.
Going forward, the White Sox have hope in the form of the slugger Abreu and the left arm of Chris Sale, arguably one of the top five pitchers in baseball. The 25-year-old Sale is 12-3 with a 1.99 ERA in 24 starts this season, with 192 strikeouts in 162 innings.
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