For a brief moment, it looked like the White Sox might actually take the series. After scratching across a run in the top of the second inning, the Good Guys had that hopeful energy again—the kind that had been building over the past couple of weeks. But then the bottom of the second happened, and just like that, the good vibes packed their bags and left town.
Chicago dropped the rubber match 7-2 in a game that unraveled faster than a cheap jersey seam. For a team that had started to look watchable—dare we say competitive?—this one felt like a throwback to those dark 2024 days. By the time the second inning ended, that all-too-familiar "this is over already" energy had settled over the ballpark like a rain delay.
Rookie left-hander Noah Schultz simply didn't have his best stuff. The southpaw turned in his ugliest outing of the season, lasting just 3⅔ innings while surrendering seven runs on seven hits and four walks. The command issues that fans flagged in the Game Thread were painfully evident, and the Angels made him pay for every mistake.
After working around a leadoff walk in the first—thanks to Drew Romo cutting down Zach Neto trying to steal—things fell apart in the second. A potential inning-ending double play fizzled when Colson Montgomery bobbled the ball before the turn. Then the wheels came off. Travis d'Arnaud crushed a three-run bomb. Bryce Teodosio doubled. Neto tripled him home. Even a routine pop-up to Chase Meidroth turned into a run when he lost it in the sky. Five runs later, the game had that unmistakable 2024 White Sox stench.
It didn't get much better from there. Osvaldo Bido came on in the fourth with the bases loaded and immediately plunked back-to-back batters to plate two more runs. No sign of the Mike Vasil magic wand here.
Offensively, there just wasn't enough punch. The Sox managed only four hits, went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and struck out ten times. They did scratch across that early run in the second, sparked by a Montgomery double and a bloop single from Meidroth, then driven in on a sac fly by Andrew Benintendi. But even that inning ended with the bases loaded and nothing more to show for it—a microcosm of the day.
They tried to make a little noise in the seventh, but the hole was already too deep. For White Sox fans, this one was a harsh reminder that progress isn't always linear—and that the bad old days can still creep back in when you least expect them.