Blue Jays 10, White Sox 8: How to hit seven homers and lose

The White Sox made history today. Too much history.

Yes, they tied a single-game franchise high with seven homers, which had only been accomplished before in 1955. Unfortunately, they were all solo shots, Miguel Gonzalez put the Sox in a 5-0 hole, and the fringy guys in the bullpen couldn’t spare the better relievers a day off without some pain.

As a result, the Sox became just the third team in Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index era (1913) to lose a game in which they hit seven homers. Detroit had been the only franchise to unlock that "accomplishment" in fact — one in 2004, the other in 1995.

Three of the White Sox’ homers were consecutive. Brett Lawrie started the scoring in the second with an inside-the-park homer, which bounced off the top of the wall and back in play, confusing the outfielders. Dioner Navarro and J.B. Shuck made it back-to-back-to-back off R.A. Dickey -- Shuck’s homer was his first for the White Sox — but it only cut the lead to 5-3.

That’s basically how the game went. Every time the White Sox narrowed the gap within striking distance, the Blue Jays pumped up the cushion.

Due to work, I somehow missed seeing Gonzalez allow any of his eight runs. Three scored in the first on three consecutive doubles, the latter two with two outs. Likewise, Devon Travis hit a two-run shot with two outs in the second inning, and Gonzalez allowed a bases-loaded walk and a two-runs single to Edwin Encarnacion in the fourth.

Seven of the eight runs scored with two outs, and the walk was especially dumb, because the White Sox already lead the league in bases-loaded walks by a considerable amount. They’ve issued 11, and the Reds are second with eight.

That extended the Jays’ lead to 8-3, and the Sox kept chipping. Brett Lawrie hit his second homer of the game, this one over the wall, in the fourth, then came through with the only non-homer RBI on a single in the sixth (although neither Navarro nor Shuck could cash in Alex Avila from third). Tim Anderson started the seventh with a solo homer, and Alex Avila followed suit in the eight to cut the lead to 8-7.

Alas, Michael Ynoa was due to show some green, and the Blue Jays beat him. Donaldson started with a single and scored on Encarnacion’s double. Lawrie made cost Ynoa an out by booting a routine grounder to Michael Saunders, and it might’ve cost Ynoa a run, as a a subsequent single by Troy Tulowitzki only had to move Encarnacion another 90 feet for the run.

The Jays needed them, as Adam Eaton hit the Sox’ seventh homer to make it a two-run game. Jose Abreu brought the tying run to the plate with a single, but Melky Cabrera bounced into a double play.

That capped off a rough game for Cabrera, who went 0-for-5. He was the only White Sox player who failed to reach base.

Bullet points:

*Before Ynoa, the bullpen walked the tightrope well. Chris Beck survived two walks to strand an inherited runner, then added a scoreless seventh. Dan Jennings pitched a simple eighth.

*Robin Ventura’s lineup featured both catchers, as Alex Avila DH’d.

*Eaton and Lawrie continued their hot streaks with three hits apiece.

*One day after wearing the golden sombrero, Encarnacion went 3-for-4 with two doubles, three runs and four RBIs.

Record: 37-38 | Box score | Highlights