Blue Jays 7, White Sox 0: The misery continues

The White Sox (7-17) had another embarrassing performance against the Blue Jays (15-9), who played at a completely different level Tuesday evening.

The South Siders were looking to improve on Monday’s loss, when they only recorded two runs on three hits. That quest got off to a horrible start because in the top of the first, Toronto starter José Berríos struck out the side in order.

The ugly top of the first was a sign of things to come for the White Sox. In the bottom of the second, [redacted], today’s White Sox starting pitcher, dug a hole. Matt Chapman and Brandon Belt drew back-to-back walks, as the inning opened in an ominous way. Then, [redacted] got Whit Merrifield to fly out, but Danny Jansen took full advantage of a 1-1 slider that caught the whole plate.

Jansen’s blast made it a 3-0 ballgame, and given the way the White Sox have struggled offensively, the game already seemed out of reach. By the end of the second, [redacted] had already thrown 52 pitches, an alarmingly high pitch count at that early phase in the game.

Things got no easier at the beginning of the bottom the third, when Bo Bichette hit a leadoff single. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed by lining a double in the left-center gap to put two in scoring position with no outs. Surprisingly, [redacted] worked out of the jam with a pop out, a strikeout, and a ground out to keep the deficit at three. However, despite allowing zero runs that inning, his pitch count was up to 71 after three innings.

In the fourth, Merrifield drew a leadoff walk, and Jansen built on his home run with a single. Just like that, the Blue Jays were threatening to extend their lead once again, and this time, they did get insurance. Kevin Kiermaier crushed a triple to right-center, and that drove in a pair for an exclamation point that put Toronto ahead by five. Finally, as if that was not enough, George Springer added an RBI single to make it 6-0.

The White Sox’s only scoring threat came in the top of the sixth, when Elvis Andrus led off with a single. With two outs, Andrew Benintendi kept the inning alive with another single to put runners on the corners. Despite the two-out life, Eloy Jiménez struck out looking on a nice slurve by Berríos.

After five innings, six runs (all earned), and 100 pitches, [redacted] was yanked, replaced by Tanner Banks. Banks was greeted rather rudely by Jansen, who continued his big night with another home run. That made it 7-0, as the Blue Jays continued to pour it on. Despite Jansen’s home run, Banks was one of the few bright spots of this game. Banks recovered and finished out the game by pitching three innings, only allowing that run.

As for Toronto’s bullpen, Nate Pearson replaced Berríos after seven brilliant, shutout innings. Pearson pitched a scoreless eighth, and Anthony Bass completed the shutout in the ninth.

The loss extended the South Siders’ losing streak to six. Through 24 games, their longest “winning streak” is still ... one. The loss also meant that the Blue Jays clinched this series, so the White Sox’s series record is 0-7-1. I do not have a positive way to spin this disaster.

The White Sox will try to avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon in Toronto. That game is scheduled to begin at 12:07 p.m. Central, and as usual, NBC Sports Chicago and WMVP-AM 1000 will cover the game. The game will also be covered on MLB Network. We hope to see you then.