The harder the White Sox try climbing out of the pit they’re in, the more dirt they seem to get on their cheeks.
And the closer the calendar creeps to an Aug. 1 trade deadline that might mean players heading out of town to better teams, the more likely it is that general manager Rick Hahn will take phone calls about starters such as Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn and relievers such as Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly, veterans with salaries to shed who can help contenders.
Graveman has been there before. He was traded from the Mariners to the Astros on July 27, 2021, and pitched in the World Series. He says he wanted to win then and says that’s the only thing that matters to him now — and he likely spoke for almost everyone in the Sox’ clubhouse.
‘‘My job is to go get three outs, four outs, whatever jersey I’m in, whatever the playing surface, whether it’s day or night,’’ Graveman said before earning the save after the Sox rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Rangers 7-6 on Tuesday. ‘‘It boils down to that. That’s the simplest answer: Give it 100%. And as for what jersey I’m in, take it day by day and try not to think about the rest.’’
‘‘I just want to win. I don’t care where I’m at, I want to win a World Series. If that’s what the White Sox are trying to do, then I’m all-in.’’
In other words, if the Sox (32-43) aren’t performing as though they want to win and the front office is operating as though it sees fit to write off the season, Graveman — and the same can be said for the others with trade value, including Giolito — wouldn’t mind working elsewhere.
Right-hander Dylan Cease, who probably isn’t going anywhere with two more seasons of club control before hitting free agency, pitched six innings of two-run ball Tuesday, striking out nine. Cease watched from the dugout as Corey Seager drove in two runs with a single in the seventh against Keynan Middleton and two more with a double in the eighth against Aaron Bummer to wipe out the Sox’ 4-2 lead.
But Elvis Andrus, who had homered in the fifth against Nathan Eovaldi, singled in two runs in the eighth to tie the score, then scored the go-ahead run on a single by Zach Remillard.
Andrus initially was called out at the plate, but the Sox challenged both the call and whether catcher Jonah Heim blocked the plate. Replay officials overturned the call, saying Heim was blocking the plate, leading to Rangers manager Bruce Bochy getting ejected for the 80th time in his career.
‘‘For that call to be made, I’m dumbfounded,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘It was absolutely one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen. And it was done by replay. I just don’t get it.’’
‘‘He was kind of like in violation,’’ Andrus said. ‘‘He was pretty much on top of the plate the whole time.’’
As bleak as it looks for the Sox, Graveman says they still can win. They can thank the weak American League Central, whose first place Twins are 36-38.
‘‘We’re [4½] back in the division,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s there for the taking. We have a lot of work to do, a lot of improvements individually, myself included.’’
Added Andrus: ‘‘It’s about how resilient we’ve been. We haven’t played to our maximum potential, but we’re still competing. We talk every day [about how] there is a lot of season left, and we have to know the best is yet to come. This was a very huge team win for us.
‘‘As long as we believe, we know we have the talent to do it. It’s about sticking as a team and pulling the right way.’’
