The White Sox are 6-9 after a 6-2 start, and what an impressive first eight games it was, considering their long list of injuries.

And then a seven-game losing streak happened, the last six on a road trip that left them packing for home in a quiet clubhouse following a stunning 6-4 loss in 10 innings to the Twins on Sunday.

The scowl on Aaron Bummer’s face, devouring a sandwich in uniform after he failed to protect the lead, strongly suggested he enjoyed not a bite. Tim Anderson quietly answered questions and Lucas Giolito, a thoughtful sort and leader of the pitching staff, scratched his head as he assessed the damage.

“It’s been a [crappy] week,” Giolito said.

“Use the off day [Monday] to our advantage and kind of hit the reset button. It’s very early in the season.

“A day to be back home, with families, clear our heads and then have a nice fresh start to the week Tuesday, a new series at home. Yeah, it will be useful.”

The off day offers a break to size up the main talking points of the first 15 of 162 games for a team with World Series aspirations.

Hitting

Four runs with two homers Sunday felt like an avalanche of offense after the Sox had averaged 2.0 runs in their previous nine games. Leury Garcia is batting .098, Josh Harrison .107, Yasmani Grandal .136, Luis Robert .205, Jose Abreu .216.

Hitting is contagious. So are slumps.

“All of a sudden, runners are in scoring position, you hit the ball hard and you don’t get a hit and now the snowball effect starts happening,” hitting coach Frank Menechino said. “You’ve got to pull yourself together mentally first before you get out of this.”

The Sox have taken a more aggressive approach to the plate this season and it shows in their walk total, 33, which ranks 29th in the majors. Through Sunday they were last in the AL in runs and on-base percentage.

Defense

A major league worst 18 errors, led by Anderson’s six and Garcia’s three, says it all. The Royals, as a team, have half as many errors as Anderson. Reese McGuire shored up the catching and Luis Robert is a top notch center fielder, but a defense that sometimes features converted first basemen Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets in the corners at the same time won’t remind anyone of the 2015 Royals.

Injuries

Just how bad Eloy Jimenez’ hamstring is and how long he will be out — at length for the second time in two seasons — will be revealed Tuesday, only the latest in a huge injury count that includes Yoan Moncada (oblique) from the everyday lineup, Lance Lynn (knee surgery) from the starting rotation and Garrett Crochet, Joe Kelly and Ryan Burr from the bullpen. Giolito missed two starts, Robert (groin) missed the last three games, Harrison (shoulder) the last four games and AJ Pollock (hamstring) has played in four.

Decisions, decisions

Manager Tony La Russa found himself loudly questioned, on the NBCSCH postgame show and elsewhere, for batting the struggling Garcia third and second over a three-game stretch on the trip and for allowing two-time Reliever of the Year Liam Hendriks to pitch to Bryron Buxton with first base open in the 10th inning Sunday. Buxton hit a 3-1 pitch for a three-run homer.

La Russa knows it comes with the territory. And the players know it’s on them when they don’t execute pitches, botch routine ground balls and fail to hit in the clutch.

“He wasn’t the one out there fielding the ground balls, he wasn’t out there hitting,” Anderson said.

The Sox play the Royals and Angels on the homestand and then two games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field next Tuesday and Wednesday. They’re saying it’s only April but they know they shouldn’t wait till May to correct things.

“With the group we have, we just come together and go play good baseball next week,” Giolito said, “and set the tone there. And keep building.”

ROYALS AT SOX

Tuesday: Daniel Lynch (1-1, 5.40) vs. Dallas Keuchel (1-1, 15.00), 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM

Wednesday: Zack Greinke (0-1, 2.25) vs. Dylan Cease (2-1, 3.38), 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM

Thursday: Brad Keller (0-2, 2.55) vs. Michael Kopech (0-0, 0.64), 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM

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It should warm the hearts of the Bulls and their fan base to hear about Grayson Allen’s tough week.

The Bucks’ reserve guard was booed unmercifully in Games 3 and 4 at the United Center. And it didn’t stop there.

“Walking on the bus? ‘Boooo.’ In the hotel? ‘Boooo.’ About to watch film? ‘Boooo,’ ” Allen described of what he’s gone through.

Then he started laughing. If only his teammates would leave him alone.

While the worst news about this best-of-seven first-round playoff series for the Bulls was they were now down 3-1 and headed for possible elimination Wednesday in Game 5, that was only 1A. The 1B in that department was not only Allen’s emergence, but how his own team took the booing and hatred thrown his way since he arrived in Chicago last Thursday, and turned it on the Bulls and their fan base.

Milwaukee players see Allen walk into practice, they boo him. See him in the hotel? More boos.

“They have so much fun doing it,” Allen said of his teammates. “I think it’s funny. I think it’s honestly hilarious. They’ve kind of turned it into a fun thing. It makes hearing it out there in the game a lot easier too because they think it’s so funny.”

So much for Allen’s tough week.

And not only did the former Duke guard find the entire situation funny, he’s played some of the best basketball of his career in the wake of it.

Allen’s 22 points in Game 3 was his new career-high in a playoff game. A record that didn’t last very long, as he then came back in Game 4 and dropped 27 on an impressive 6-for-7 from three-point range.

“I was in the right spots a lot,” Allen said of his latest performance. “Knocked down a couple shots early and got in a rhythm.”

He’s done more than that, however. Allen has completely changed the momentum of the series.

Since becoming public enemy No. 1 in Chicago back in January, it’s been a roller coaster of a ride for Allen. His one-game suspension for the flagrant-2 foul that fractured the right wrist of Bulls guard Alex Caruso was the low, but what he’s experiencing right now has definitely been the high.

After the first two games of the series, the No. 6 seeded Bulls actually had the defending champs on the ropes, surviving Milwaukee with a split and headed to Chicago with the Bucks down All-Star Khris Middleton (MCL sprain).

The feeling was that an even bigger workload would have to fall on the shoulders of all-world forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that hasn’t been the case. It’s been the role players that have led to back-to-back Bucks blowouts, with Allen the face of that bench group.

Boos and all.

And while it’s easy to assume that Allen’s previous incidents back in college have somehow made him welcoming of the idea of being a villain right out of “Cobra Kai,” that’s not his reality.

“I would still say that it’s not naturally comfortable for me, but I am to the point right now where anytime I go out and play basketball I just remind myself to have fun with it, so I am having fun with it,” Allen said. “It’s not something I feed off of. Like I’m not going out searching for it like, ‘Oh, I love this.’ ”

Leave that to his teammates.

“He’s played amazing,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe we’ve got to boo him even more. Maybe Milwaukee fans got to boo him … no, we’re not going to do that.”

It definitely wouldn’t hurt.

NOTE: According to Bulls coach Billy Donovan, Caruso remained in the concussion protocol going through further testing on Monday, and was day-to-day for Wednesday’s Game 5.

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Cubs reliever Keegan Thompson is pitching like somebody who knows they’re in the right place.

“When you first get here it’s like, this is the big leagues,” Thompson said. “You’re not really sure if you belong and then you pitch a little bit, have some success and you feel like you belong and then you get your first taste of rough patches. You have to go through those things and adjust and try to stay even-keeled. I think just having the experience last year, just knowing I can throw here and belong here, just helps the confidence level.”

Right now, Thompson’s confidence level is pretty high less than a month into his second big-league season.

Over four outings and 13 2/3 innings to begin the season, Thompson has allowed no runs. Per Cubs historian Ed Hartig, Thompson is the fifth Cubs pitcher with four scoreless relief appearances of at least eight outs in one month since 1893, the last being Mike Proly in August 1982. In the wake of the shortened spring training, that has allowed manager David Ross to go to his bullpen earlier and not tax his starters more than he’d like.

“Keegan’s been extremely valuable,” Ross said. “Can’t overstate how well he’s pitched and how good he’s looked and how valuable that arm has been for us.”

Last year, Thompson showed promise, compiling a 3.38 ERA over 32 appearances. His season did end on a sour note after he essentially was given a tryout out for the 2022 rotation but posted a 7.11 ERA over five starts and only completed four innings once. He also was placed on the 10-day injured list twice due to right shoulder inflammation.

That experience, though, wasn’t the worst thing for Thompson’s development into a reliable part of the staff. Ross said that after 2021 ended, Thompson was able to decompress and reset, and arrived at this year’s spring training in great shape and ready to pitch.

“You can tell he has a lot of confidence in himself and I think sometimes just being at the big-league level and knowing that you belong here and having some success and also some struggles that push you to continue to get better is a good thing,” Ross said.

A noticeable difference for Thompson this year is his command of the strike zone. In 2021, he walked 5.23 batters per nine innings. So far this season, he’s shaved that number down to 1.98. He’s also been more efficient, throwing 68% of his pitches for strikes compared to 62% last year, and is tossing 12.73 pitches per inning, down from 18.11 a year ago.

Seeing those numbers, it makes sense that Thompson thinks the key to his start has been attacking the zone.

“Especially compared to last year I’ve been much better attacking the zone early in the counts and not falling behind,” Thompson said. “I think it’s just allowing my off-speed [pitches] to play a lot more off the fastball. If I was working behind, I wouldn’t be able to throw those pitches in certain counts and utilize those weapons as often as I have been able to so far.”

Thompson’s success then begs the question whether he should get another shot at the rotation after being sent down to get stretched out following last year’s trade deadline. But regardless of what comes his way, Thompson is ready.

“Whatever [my role is], starting, relieving, they want me to go long in relief, I’m here to do whatever they need me to do,” Thompson said.

CUBS AT BRAVES
Tuesday: Marcus Stroman (0-2, 8.78 ERA) vs. Max Fried (1-2, 3.50), 6:20 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM
Wednesday: Mark Leiter Jr. (0-1, 11.05) vs. Charlie Morton (1-2, 6.32), 6:20 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM
Thursday: Drew Smyly (1-1, 2.45) vs. Kyle Wright (2-0, 1.06), 6:20 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM

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The day the Bears introduced Ryan Poles as their new general manager was a career breakthrough. After 13 years working his way up the ranks with the Chiefs, Poles finally earned the job he always wanted.

But that was also the day he inherited a list of problems left behind by predecessor Ryan Pace and limited resources with which to address them. As Poles goes into his first draft, which begins Thursday, he has no first-round picks and will choose just three times in the first 140 selections.

That’s not much help for a team that desperately needs it after cratering to 6-11 last season and cleaning house.

The outlook for the draft was bleaker when Poles arrived, but he offloaded star pass rusher Khalil Mack and his massive contract to the Chargers for an extra second round. He has Nos. 39 and 48 in that round, No. 71 in the third, then gets to roll the dice with two fifth-rounders and a sixth.

Unless an incredible talent drops to the Bears unexpectedly, Poles needs to triage the various emergencies at Halas Hall. He can’t assume he’ll find long-term starters beyond those first three selections.

As Poles surveyed the deficiencies of his roster again last week during voluntary minicamp, the three that should have stood out the most were cornerback, offensive line and wide receiver.

The Bears went into last season with an indefensible plan at cornerback in which Jaylon Johnson was the only sure thing. The rest were mostly practice-squad level players, and unsurprisingly, the Bears allowed an NFL-worst 103.3 opponent passer rating.

That situation isn’t any better now. Poles signed former Ravens depth piece Tavon Young (seven starts last season) and recent Rams and Bills practice-squad player Greg Stroman to minimal contracts.

While the Bears are obviously prioritizing their future and viewing this as a transition season, cornerback is their most urgent issue.

The weak spots at offensive line and wide receivers could be troublesome not only this season, but down the road if they continue to hamper quarterback Justin Fields’ development.

At receiver, Darnell Mooney is coming off a 1,055-yard season, Byron Pringle had 42 catches last season and everyone else is a mystery. The Bears hope Equanimeous St. Brown is on the cusp of a breakthrough, but he played just 34% of the Packers’ offensive snaps last season and 26% in 2020.

Fortunately for Poles, this wide receiver class is thought to be so loaded that teams can find dynamic contributors beyond the first round.

The Bears believe they’ve corrected many of the elements that worked against Fields last season simply by their coaching hires, implementing an offense tailored to his skills and clearing the way for him to be the unquestioned starter. But the impact of those changes will be muted if his receivers can’t get open — or if he can’t stay upright.

The Bears gave up a league-high 58 sacks last season, which was one of many factors in Fields’ rookie struggles. Poles didn’t bat an eye at guard James Daniels leaving in free agency and he immediately installed newcomer Lucas Patrick at center. That leaves Sam Mustipher to scrap for a job at right guard.

It’s also unclear whether the Bears have answers at right and left tackle as they shuffle second-year players Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom between those spots. Figuring out where they belong — and whether they belong in the long-range plans at all — could take well into August.

The Bears added some insurance at tackle Monday by signing veteran Julien Davenport, who has 32 starts in five seasons, including four starts with the Colts in 2021.

The upside is that Poles seems to have a clear grasp of how extensive and severe the problems are. He doesn’t seem to be looking for quick fixes. And if he finds legitimate answers at those three spots, it’ll go a long way toward accelerating his rebuild.

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Six people were killed, a man was critically wounded in a police-involved shooting and 37 others were shot across Chicago this weekend, marking the city’s most devastating toll so far this year as temperatures rose ahead of the typically violent summer months.

Just last week, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown touted encouraging drops in homicides and shootings as the department pushes to tamp down the surging violent crime that has become a serious political liability for Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

In January, just days after Chicago closed the books on its deadliest year in a quarter-century, Lightfoot declared 2022 a “make-or-break year” for doing just that. This weekend, however, proved to be the year’s first major stumbling block.

Shootings stretched across the city — between 5 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday — and spiked Saturday into early Sunday as temperatures rose.

The weekend’s worst shooting happened Saturday evening in Englewood, leaving two men dead and two others wounded.

About 7:30 p.m., a group of people were standing in the 1900 block of West Garfield Boulevard when someone opened fire from a vehicle, police said. Two men, 42 and 48, were each struck multiple times and pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital, respectively.

A 24-year-old man was shot in the back and arm and taken in serious condition to University of Chicago, police said. A 65-year-old man was hit in the back and legs and treated at Mount Sinai.

Hours later, a man was shot and critically wounded following an altercation Saturday night in River North.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, confronted the gunman around 10 p.m. in the 100 block of West Hubbard Street when he was shot multiple times, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

Over a day earlier, Chicago police shot an armed man in Pullman, according to a department spokesman.

Officers initially responded about 5:40 p.m. Friday to a call of a man with a gun in the 11200 block of South Langley Avenue, police said. When he allegedly aimed at them, at least one officer shot him.

It’s unclear whether more than one officer fired shots. Details of the man’s injuries weren’t made available, but he was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Also among the wounded was a 16-year-old boy who was shot in the 2400 block of West 25th Street in Pilsen around 7:25 p.m. Saturday, police said. He was taken to a hospital in good condition.

A 17-year-old girl was also found wounded by gunfire at the 3600 block of West Douglas Boulevard around 1:10 a.m early Sunday morning, police said. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was in good condition.

While the weekend was this year’s most violent so far, other weekends have also resulted in six homicides, according to data from the Sun-Times. There hasn’t been a weekend without a deadly shooting in Chicago since January.

A rise in temperatures typically coincides with a rise in violence in Chicago. For example, one of last year’s most violent weekends took place over the Fourth of July holiday, leaving 19 dead and 85 more hurt.

Through April 17, the most recent city data, there had been 622 shootings and 157 murders across Chicago. That marked a 15% decrease in shooting incidents and a 10% drop in homicides from last year, although those numbers were both up compared to the three previous years.

During a news conference last week, Supt. Brown detailed a new deployment strategy that focuses on 55 police beats that he said account for half the city’s violence. The new emphasis on “beat integrity” and community-based policing marked a major departure for Brown, who initially built up citywide teams when he was tapped by Lightfoot as top cop.

He said the new strategy relies on coordination with other city agencies and efforts to bolster social services and build up neighborhood block clubs.

“We really are, in my opinion, collaborating as we move into the warmer months to really continue our momentum in reducing crime,” he said.

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