For the third straight series, the White Sox failed to complete a 3-game sweep after taking the first two games of the series. For the third straight series, they lost the final game of the series after having an early lead. It was the sixth straight time the Sox have dropped the final game of a 3-game set when they had the opportunity for a sweep.
The Sox have won the first two games of 3-game series 16 times this season. They've completed the sweep just 7 times, none since mid-June. None against their AL opponents since May. They're 2-8 in their last 10 sweep opportunities, with both of those sweeps coming against the 'top two' teams NL Central.
Two outta three against the Orioles, Royals, and slumping Blue Jays ain't gonna cut it. The Orioles and Royals are bad. The Sox need to exploit teams like them. The Blue Jays are a good team, but right now they're a good team who is struggling -- maybe even more the the Sox have been.
Don't get me wrong, if somebody could guarantee me that the Sox would win every series for the rest of the season, I'd take it. .667 baseball for the rest of the season will give the Sox 100 wins, and I don't think they'll be on the outside looking in with that record. That hasn't happened since before the inception of the Wild Card.
The way the AL Central, AL East, and Wild Card races are shaping up. There are only 3 spots available for 5 teams. The Tigers look to have one of those spots in a stranglehold, leaving the two Sox, Twins, and Yankees to fight it out for the last two spots. And the White Sox and Twins don't have the luxury of a division title to fall back on.
Between those 4 teams, at least one of them is going to play amazing baseball down the stretch -- and by 'amazing' I mean .700 or better -- the kind of baseball that makes two outta three look pedestrian. With the Tigers 9 games up, already planning playoff rotation, the Sox need to be that team. They need to run off one of those patented 8-game winning streaks.