SEATTLE — The White Sox hit a couple of more home runs Friday, and they’ll take them. But like the four they had the night before, no one was on base.
A night after hitting four homers in a one-run loss in 11 innings to the Dodgers, the Sox (30-41) got long balls from Gavin Sheets and Andrew Benintendi against the Mariners, but mustered only three other hits in a 3-2 loss, their fifth defeat in six games.
And just like the night before, the Sox struck out 16 times without drawing a single walk.
“Six homers in the last two days, all solos,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “I like that we’re hitting homers. I like the ball in the way. Now we have to find ways to put up crooked numbers. If we do that we’ll be in pretty good shape with the pitching we’ve got.”
Benintendi’s first homer in a Sox uniform forged a 2-1 lead in the sixth, but the Mariners (34-34) rallied for single runs in the bottom of the inning and in the seventh against reliever Tanner Banks, who worked 2 2⁄3 innings for a bullpen that was used heavily in the last two games. All Grifol had to work with was Banks, Jesse Scholtens and Keynan Middleton. Scholtens was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte before the game.
Michael Kopech, wanting to go deep into the game knowing the circumnstances, walked a season-high six batters and allowed six hits but needed 102 pitches to get through 4 1⁄3 innings. He was charged with just one run.
“We worked out of some sticky situations but they needed me to go long and I did about as poor a job of that as you can,” Kopech said. “Six walks, giving away free bases, getting myself in high pitch counts every inning. It was a rough day.”
But aside from Sheets and Benintendi hitting home runs, a rough day for the Sox lineup against Bryan Woo, who retired the first nine batters he faced and 13 of the first 14.
Banks relieved Kopech in the fifth and struck out Cal Raleigh and got pinch hitter AJ Pollock to foul out to leave the bases loaded. At that point, the Mariners were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Woo, who entered with a 10.80 ERA, struck out a career high nine batters. He allowed Sheets’ eighth homer, a solo shot in the fifth that broke a scoreless tie.
Julio Rodriguez doubled and scored Hernandez’ double against Kopech in the bottom of the fifth. Sox third baseman Jake Burger left his position to cover third when Rodriguez broke from second, and Hernandez bounced one through where Burger was playing into left field.
“Normally you hold a little bit and wait for contact,” Grifol said. “That becomes a little bit of a tough play because he’s playing the 5-6 hold and probably wouldn’t have got there if he swings and misses.”
After Benintendi’s homer against Woo broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth, the Mariners tied it again on Ty France’s two-out single to left scoring Crawford. Nine of the last 10 Sox batters were retired, including 3-4-5 hitters Luis Robert Jr. (strikeout), Eloy Jimenez (groundout) and Burger (strikeout) in order in a 10-pitch ninth against closer Paul Sewald, who got his 13th save.
Burger struck out three times and Robert struck out four times for the fourth time in a game this season. The 32 strikeouts in two games ties a Sox franchise record over a two-game span (Aug 7-8, 2018).
The Sox are 1-3 on their road trip to Los Angeles and Seattle with two games left against the Mariners. They face the Rangers and Red Sox at home next week before going out west again to play the Angels and Athletics.
“I know we have the talent here,” Banks said. “We need to keep pulling from the same rope and the cards will start to fall in our favor.”
Three of the Sox’ last five losses have been by one run.
The Sox are in fourth place in the soft AL Central, 5 1⁄2 games behind the Twins who are in first place with a 36-36 record.
