Instead of saving Dylan Cease for the first place Guardians Thursday, the White Sox called on their Cy Young contender to take care of the 62-81 Colorado Rockies Wednesday.
“We’re trying to be our best [Wednesday] and we can be and we worry about tomorrow later,” acting manager Miguel Cairo said.
Using Cease felt like overkill but it was nothing but. Cease gave up three runs in five innings in what felt like a must-win game while the Guardians were streaking to their sixth consecutive game. What had been a rejuvenated Sox offense had eighth hits but nothing to show for them in a 3-0 loss that dropped the Sox (73-70) four games behind the lead.
The Sox were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
As buzzkills go, this one stung for a team that has won 10 of 15 games under acting manager Miguel Cairo. And now it’s on to Cleveland for one game against the Guardians, who are call ingup rookie right-hander Hunter Gaddis from Triple-A to start a makeup game Thursday afternoon.
While Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie was pushed ahead to start Cleveland’s series opener against the Twins on Friday, the Sox moved Lucas Giolito to face the Tigers Friday to allow Lance Lynn to face the Guardians Thursday.
Every game is crucial for Sox, who trail Cleveland by five games in the loss column, but especially games against the Guardians, who visit the Sox for three games next week and have the advantage of closing the season with six games at home against the Royals.
Cease needed 107 pitches to trudge through five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out eight.
Cairo was asked about saving Cease for Cleveland, “but I think today’s what counts. We cannot be waiting for tomorrow,” he said before the game.
And “Lance is one of our horses and has been pitching really well. I think that’s the best matchup for them.”
Cairo is sticking to the one day at a time approach.
“Today, we go about our business,” he said.
Tomorrow is Cleveland, which has won six in a row. The youngest team in the majors was considered the third or fourth best team in the division entering the season.
“Those kids, they know how to play the game,” Cairo said. “They play good defense, they pitch, they put the barrel on the ball. They don’t strike out that much so they’re going to be a pain in the butt. They play the game the right way. That’s what we’ve been doing.
“And look at the results,” Cairo said. “We’ve just to keep doing what we’re doing. We cannot be worried about how they’ve played or what did they do. We’ve got to worry about how we play the game.”
