The Chicago White Sox were looking to end May on a good note.
Instead they found themselves trailing by seven runs after four innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox surrendered five homers — two by Shohei Ohtani — in the 12-5 loss.
“If you don’t regroup and come back with some energy (Friday), this thing can linger on, so it’s our responsibility to make sure we nip this in the bud and get back to work and bring some energy against Detroit and hopefully win a series,” manager Pedro Grifol said Wednesday. “But this thing can linger on and we’re not going to let it. I’m not going to let it.”
The Sox had a winning month, going 15-14. But they still find themselves 12 games under .500 at 23-35.
And plenty of challenges await them in June. Here’s a look at what’s ahead.
1. Say goodbye (for now) to the AL Central.
The Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and Angels were the only teams with winning records the Sox faced in May.
June features only four games against teams with losing records — three against the Tigers (26-28) and the first of three at Oakland (12-46) with the final two games of that series July 1-2.
The Sox begin a three-game series against the Tigers on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The teams met last week, with the Tigers winning three of four at Comerica Park. The Sox had their chances, holding seventh-inning leads in the final two games of that series, but lost 7-3 on Saturday and 6-5 in 10 innings the next day.
The Sox had at least one series against the rest of the American League Central in May, going 11-9 against the Twins (2-1), Tigers (1-3), Cleveland Guardians (4-2) and Kansas City Royals (4-3).
The three against the Tigers this weekend are the last games in the division for the Sox through the All-Star break. They won’t see another AL Central team until July 21 at Minnesota.
The Sox will see plenty of the AL West this month, with games against four of the five teams in that division.
2. Sox searching for an encore on the New York stage.
A highlight to the disappointing 2022 season came May 22 when the Sox swept a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
Yankees superstar Aaron Judge homered in the eighth to tie the opener, but the Sox scored twice in the ninth for a 3-1 win.
In the nightcap, Michael Kopech retired the first 17 batters before Rob Brantly broke up the perfect game with a two-out double in the sixth.
The Sox scored five with two outs in the eighth on RBI hits by Andrew Vaughn and Reese McGuire and a three-run home run by Tim Anderson for a 5-0 victory. The homer was the third hit of the game for Anderson, who was booed throughout the night by Yankees fans after words with Josh Donaldson and a benches-clearing incident the previous afternoon.
The Sox are back in New York from Tuesday through Thursday against the Yankees, who are 10 games over .500 (34-24) but in third place in the loaded AL East. Judge — the 2022 AL MVP — continues to be among the game’s best, leading the AL with 18 homers and a 1.089 OPS.
3. The Sox go west — twice.
The three games against the Yankees begin a stretch of seven consecutive series against teams with winning records.
After returning home June 9-11 for a series against the Miami Marlins (29-27), the Sox make the first of two West Coast trips in the month at the Los Angeles Dodgers (June 13-15) and Seattle Mariners (June 16-18).
The Dodgers (34-23) began the month with the best record in the National League and a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West. The Mariners (29-27) are fourth in the AL West but have won seven of 10.
The Sox host the AL West-leading Texas Rangers June 19-21 and then the Boston Red Sox from June 22-25.
Th Rangers (35-20), winners in 10 of 13, have the AL’s second-best record. Despite having a winning record, the Red Sox (28-27) are last in the AL East and are 13-13 in their last 26.
The Sox head west again, facing the Angels June 26-29 in Anaheim, Calif., and then beginning the three-game series against the A’s on June 30.
The Angels (30-27) just won two of three against the Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, with Ohtani hitting three homers in the series. He’s second to Judge in the AL with 15 home runs.
Where the Sox stand by the time they get to Oakland could point to decisions ahead for the second half.
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