The Sox missed out on a golden opportunity late Wednesday night as they found themselves on the wrong side of a short series sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels.
Though both the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians lost earlier in the evening, the Sox still couldn’t find a way to gain ground in the AL Central race, squandering their chance by getting blown out by Jered Weaver and the Angels.
Zach Stewart had a disappointing trip to the mound, pitching 6.0 innings and giving up seven runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out four. The Angels started the scoring in the bottom of the second, as a string of hits put them up 2-0.
They added another in the bottom of the third, as Torii Hunter hit his 18th home run of the season to left center. Stewart settled down for a little while, but more damage was done in the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff single by Howie Kendrick was followed by a walk to Vernon Wells, a passed ball, and a bases clearing double by Erick Aybar, to put the Angels up 6-0. Josh Kinney came on in relief of Stewart but failed to keep any inherited runners from scoring and the score ballooned to 8-0 by the time the frame was done.
At the same time, Jered Weaver was baffling the Sox offense. He threw 7.0 shutout innings, giving up just four hits and two walks while striking out eight. The Sox failed to get anything going against him all night, and were similarly stymied by the Angels bullpen in Bobby Cassevah and Fernando Rodney.
The White Sox are off on Thursday before continuing their west coast road trip with a visit to Safeco field and a series against the Mariners.