TORONTO — Andrew Vaughn tried. He really tried with four hits in a 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays.
The White Sox’ best current hitter in a lineup missing Tim Anderson, Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez, Vaughn homered, doubled and singled his first three times up against Jays tough right-hander Kevin Gausman, keeping a short-handed team in the game against the streaking Blue Jays Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.
Vaughn thought he was coming to bat with another runner on base after the Sox plated two runs in the sixth, but a baserunning gaffe put an abrupt halt to a rare offensive surge.
The Sox gave away the tying run when an apparent sacrifice fly by Yasmani Grandal brought Reese McGuire in from home. But Danny Mendick tagged up and was thrown out at second by left fielder Lourdes Gurriel before McGuire crossed the plate. Second baseman Cavan Biggio, with his back to Mendick, made a slick tag, and plate umpire Adrian Johnson emphatically waved off the run McGuire should have scored.
Vaughn collected his fourth hit, a leadoff single, in the ninth. Jose Abreu singled him to second but Jake Burger hit into a third-to-second double play, and Gavin Sheets struck out.
The Jays bullpen, after Trevor Richards served up those two in the sixth, held the Sox scoreless in the last three innings and the Jays won their sixth in row and 10th in 13 games.
The Sox (23-24) have lost four of six.
Facing the team that traded him for Zack Collins during spring training, McGuire had two hits including an RBI double and a run scored.
Mendick, taking injured shortstop Tim Anderson’s spot, doubled and singled, drove in two runs and scored a run.
Lucas Giolito served up homers to Alejandro Kirk in the Jays’ two-run second and four-run fifth, the biggest hits among eight allowed by the right-hander over 4 2/3 innings. Giolito walked two and struck out eight.
A man short — sort of
The Sox are playing the first two games of the Jays series one short of a full 26-man roster.
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease and reliever Kendall Graveman, who are not fully vaccinated, are on the restricted list for the series because Canada requires entrants to be vaccinated for COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to entry.
Because Cease pitched four-plus innings against the Cubs Sunday, the Sox can’t replace him on the active roster till Thursday. Reliever Kyle Crick filled Graveman’s spot.
This and that
Grandal batted leadoff for the 16th time in his career and struck out his first three times to the plate and finished 0-for-5, dropping his average to .163.
*Leury Garcia didn’t start because of a sore hip but said he expects to play Wednesday.
*A schedule change for the Sox series in August in Kansas City now includes a doubleheader at 3:10 p.m. on the 9th and singles games on the 10th (7:10 p.m.) and the 11th (1:10).
