It’s hard to know for sure just how angry and outraged fans would’ve been had the White Sox blown a three-run ninth-inning lead against the Orioles on Sunday and lost — again — for a four-game sweep. But as reliever Kendall Graveman walked the high wire in the ninth, it was easy to imagine every Sox fan who has yet to call for manager Tony La Russa’s dismissal joining the chorus of those who’ve been doing just that.

Graveman and the Sox survived 4-3, but let’s face it: As they hit the West Coast for series against the Angels and Giants, the Sox are still a mess. It might take a miracle for them to avoid digging an even deeper hole in the division before the All-Star break. The chorus? It’s just warming up.

Yet there’s a widespread belief among those close to the game that Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf won’t stand for the removal of La Russa during the season. Why is that? The men are close friends. More than that, Reinsdorf’s reputation and ego are on the line considering he wanted La Russa to come back at 76 after 10 seasons away from the dugout. And an even bigger factor, many say: Reinsdorf doesn’t believe in changing managers during the season.

But keep these names in mind: Tim Floyd, Bill Cartwright, Scott Skiles and Fred Hoiberg. Each of those Bulls coaches was treated to an in-season kicking to the curb. We’re pretty sure Reinsdorf owns that team, too.

And La Russa was fired by Reinsdorf’s Sox once before, of course. It was in 1986 — June of, to be more precise. Here’s what’s happening:

MON 27

White Sox at Angels (8:38 p.m., NBCSCH)

Lucas Giolito has allowed more than an earned run per inning over his last five starts, which he describes as “brutal” — and which Sox fans describe as “fire Tony!”

TUE 28

Astros at Mets (6:10 p.m., TBS)

Somebody forgot to tell the Astros — 4-2 against the Yankees and Mets over the last week — that this season is supposed to be all about the New York teams.

Lightning at Avalanche, Game 7, if necessary (7 p.m., Ch. 7)

The Bolts are trying to become the first team since 1942 to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup. That’s so long ago, Tampa hadn’t even welcomed babies Louis Victor Piniella and Anthony La Russa Jr. yet.

Reds at Cubs (7:05 p.m., Marquee)

The Battle for the Basement is here, and we can tell by the looks on your faces that you’re less than riveted. Look, it’s either this or “America’s Got Talent.”

White Sox at Angels (8:38 p.m., NBCSCH)

The Angels have gone from a 27-17 start to a colossal losing streak to firing Joe Maddon to all-too-familiar “How can a team with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout be this bad?” territory. We probably should’ve seen it coming.

USWNT vs. Colombia (9 p.m., ESPN)

One last friendly for the U.S. before qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics begins.

WED 29

Sun at Sky (11 a.m., Marquee, NBA TV)

A morning start? What is this, college? The game plan for both teams: Nobody oversleep!

Union at Fire (7 p.m.,Ch. 9)

How many times has Philly lost this season? Try once. Believe it or not, it wasn’t against the Fire.

White Sox at Angels (8:30 p.m., NBCSCH)

Nothing to see here, folks — just the best baseball player on the planet throwing smoke from the mound and taking monster cuts at the plate. We’re talking about Ohtani, in case that needed clearing up.

THU 30

Padres at Dodgers (9:10 p.m., FS1)

Let’s see, Yu Darvish isn’t pitching. Fernando Tatis Jr. isn’t playing. What the heck are we supposed to get aggravated about?

FRI 1

White Sox at Giants (9:15 p.m., NBCSCH)

Neither of these teams is anywhere close to as good as it was in 2021, but at least the Giants have yet to spend a single day below .500 this season. What do they know about suffering?

SAT 2

Mercury at Sky (noon, ESPN)

The Mercury officially labeled their recent breakup with star Tina Charles a “contract divorce,” but it could have been worse — at least they got to keep the arena.

Red Sox at Cubs (6:15 p.m., Fox-32)

The Red Sox aren’t bad at all, but they have no shot whatsoever to catch the Yankees. As opposed to the Cubs, who have no shot whatsoever to catch anybody.

SUN 3

Red Sox at Cubs (1:20 p.m., Marquee)

Combined, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are a whopping 218 years old. That’s nearly as old as long-ago Cub Rich Hill, who’s lined up to start for the visitors.

White Sox at Giants (3:05 p.m., NBCSCH)

Savor every moment of this one, Sox fans, because what’s coming next is just plain terrifying: another homestand.

USFL championship (6:30 p.m., Fox-32)

Does it get any better than the Philadelphia Stars against the Birmingham Stallions in Canton, Ohio, for all the marbles? Don’t answer that.

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After falling behind 0-2, Jorge Mateo stepped out of the box in an apparent effort to disrupt the rhythm of Dylan Cease.

No chance.

Cease proceeded to strike out Mateo to start the third inning for the sixth of a career-high 13 strikeouts Sunday.

After losing four consecutive games, the only obstacle facing the White Sox was themselves as they survived a harrowing ninth inning to seize a 4-3 victory over the Orioles and avert a four-game sweep.

The Sox (34-37) averted falling to a season-high five games below .500, which would have cast more scrutiny as they embarked to the West Coast for six games against the Angels and Giants.

They departed with joy and relief thanks largely to Cease’s dominance, in which he scattered four hits over seven innings.

“That’s why we’ve got to work to keep him healthy,” manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s up there with the top echelon of starting pitchers. Just look at the work he’s doing against the teams he’s doing it to, the quality of the pitches, going through those lineups three times.

“That was an unbelievable ninth, though.”

Joe Kelly struck out Austin Hays to persevere a three-run lead, but tensions mounted after first baseman Jose Abreu dropped a throw and botched a grounder to start the ninth. Jonathan Arauz hit a bases-loaded single, and Cedric Mullins hit a sacrifice fly to move the tying run to third.

But Kendall Graveman, handling the closer’s duties in place of injured Liam Hendricks, struck out Trey Mancini and alleviated the worst fears of 29,191 fans.

“That win needed to happen,” Graveman said. “It would have been a tough way to lose it.”

Especially after Cease mixed in his 98 mph fastball to keep the Orioles’ batters from looking exclusively for his sharp slider that earned five of his first six strikeouts.

“You’ve definitely got to mix it in and make sure they know that it’s not just going to be spin,” said Cease, who threw 67 of his 101 pitches for strikes. “Lot of strikes, that’s good.”

Gavin Sheets’ two-run homer in the second provided early support as well as represented the Sox’s first homer since they hit three June 20 in a win over the Blue Jays.

All five of Sheets’ homers this season have been hit at home.

Sosa poked a double down the right-field line for his first major league hit in the third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Vaughn.

“Even though the first few days I wasn’t able to get my first one, they kept telling me ‘don’t worry, don’t worry, you’re going to get your first one sooner rather than later,’ ” Sosa said.

Cease, meanwhile, strengthened his American League All-Star credentials by lowering his ERA to 2.56 and increased his strikeout total to 121 in 15 starts, the third most by a Sox pitcher in his first 15 starts of a season.

Cease, who threw 46 sliders, earned his fourth double-digit strikeout game in 2022 – tying him with Javier Vazquez for fifth-most in franchise history.

“I want to be that guy that the team can rely on,” Cease said. “To go out and give seven like that is definitely a positive.”

And Graveman maintained his poise through the chaos in the ninth, gathering his infielders for some positive reinforcement after Abreu’s second error.

” ‘Hey, it’s fine,’ ” Graveman told them. ” ‘We still got to win a baseball game. No panic. Nobody’s fault. Hey, I’ll pick you up and do the best I can to pick you up.’ “

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The long-awaited cast of reinforcements should start to join White Sox as soon as Tuesday night.

Third baseman Yoan Moncada could start when he’s eligible to return from the 10-day injured list. Manager Tony La Russa said he had a lengthy chat with Moncada, who has been sidelined due to a right hamstring strain.

“It would be nice to get Yoan in there and get some muscle in the middle of that lineup,” La Russa said.

A more curious situation involves outfielder Eloy Jim?nez, who has been relegated to designated hitter duties since resuming his minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. Jimenez is 4-for-21 and told La Russa recently he felt good but has yet to play the outfield after missing two weeks because of discomfort in his surgically repaired right hamstring.

“I just want to see Eloy,” La Russa said. “I want him hitting in the middle of our lineup with that ability to drive in important runs. But only if he’s healthy, right? Can’t rush it.”

Lopez still dreams of starting

Reynaldo Lopez’s 14-strikeout performance against the Tigers three years ago raised attention regarding his ability as a starting pitcher.

Lopez yearns to start in the future and said he’s a more complete pitcher since his career-high strikeout performance.

“If you check that outing, 13 of the 14 batters I struck out with fastballs and just one slider,” Lopez said Sunday of his outing on April 28, 2019, when pitched six innings of a 4-1 win. “Now I’m a better pitcher because I have better command of my fastball and my slider is way better. I can locate all pitches, especially my fastball in and out, high and low.

“Wherever I want to locate that pitch, that’s a game changer. You have that confidence now you can throw your pitches in any count and execute them. My pitches are better now. They’re sharper now, and that’s the difference.”

As of now, Lopez, 28, is too valuable to move from the bullpen, where he. hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 innings covering eight games (including one appearance as an opener). Lopez has limited opponents to a .188average with runners on base, and they’re batting .083 (1-for-12) with running in scoring position with two out and .212 (7-for-33) with runners in scoring position.

Lopez, 28, acknowledged that he is pitching more aggressively as a reliever and has appreciated the tips given to him at the start of the season by fellow reliever Kendall Graveman, such as game planning and studying the strengths and weaknesses of opposing batters more closely.

Juggling act

Ryan Haseley felt ill and didn’t start Sunday, so Josh Harrison made his first start in left field but had no chances in seven innings. Harrison has made 53 career starts in left, including three with the A’s in 2021.

“We told him, ‘we put you in for your offense,’ ” La Russa said. Harrison responded with two hits.

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ST. LOUIS – Sometimes baseball defies logic. The Cubs, after starting the road trip with a lopsided series loss to the Pirates, played the Cardinals close for three straight games.

In the series finale Sunday, they beat the Cardinals 6-5 in extra innings, claiming the series 2-1.

Cubs catcher Willson Contreras delivered the winning run, leading off the 10th inning with an RBI single through the right side of the field.

Before that, the Cubs battled back from a five-run deficit to tie the game in the fourth inning. Nico Hoerner started the rally, hitting a leadoff infield single, the first of four straight singles for the Cubs.

Yan Gomes followed him with a line drive into right field. Then, Alfonso Rivas beat the shift with a hit through the left side of the infield, driving in a run. David Bote’s single up the middle loaded the bases again.

Christopher Morel struck out to end the streak. But with one out, Rafael Ortega and Willson Contreras each drove in two runs.

The Cardinals finally got out of the inning with a heads-up play by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Cubs cleanup hitter Ian Happ hit a line drive at Goldschmidt, which the first baseman dropped. But with the force still in play, he tagged Contreras as he slid back to first and then stepped on the bag for a double play.

Go long

Cubs starter Alec Mills ran into trouble his second time through the Cardinals batting order. He gave up back-to-back home runs, to Brendan Donovan and Goldschmidt, to begin the third inning. Then, with two outs, he threw a sinker middle-in to Juan Yepez on the first pitch of the at-bat, and Yepez drove it over the fence.

Matt Swarmer, who had originally been slated to start on Sunday, replaced Mills, trailing 5-0.

Swarmer’s ERA had ballooned from 1.50 to 5.84 over his last three starts. And Cubs manager David Ross said he wanted a look at him in the bullpen.

Swarmer held the Cardinals hitless through 2 1/3 innings of relief.

Heyward out of lineup

Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward has been dealing with a minor knee issue, Ross revealed on Sunday. Heyward has been out of the lineup for two games.

“Just trying to give him a day or two,” Ross said.

Nelson Vel?zquez and Ortega started in right field against the Cardinals on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

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An extra-alarm fire broke out Sunday afternoon at a commercial building in Dunning on the Northwest Side.

The blaze started just before 3 p.m. in the 4100 block of North Nashville Avenue and was upgraded to a three-alarm, level one hazmat fire, Chicago fire officials said.

No injuries have been reported, officials said.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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One person was killed and another wounded after gunmen opened fire on a CTA bus Sunday afternoon in Garfield Park.

About 1:20 p.m., two armed males entered the bus in the 300 block of South PulaskiRoad, walked to the ,back and began shooting at two people on board, Chicago police said.

A male, whose age was unknown, was shot in the head and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

A man, 24, suffered a graze wound to the head and refused medical attention, police said.

Following the shooting, the gunmen exited the bus and fled eastbound.

Area Four detectives are investigating.

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