April hasn't been kind to the White Sox. Neither the weather nor luck on the diamond have gone in their favor since what seemed to be a strong start way back when they were 6-3. Now, sitting at 7-10, their resolve will be under the miscrscope as they try to find a way to grind out of their current slump.
"One thing I truly believe, with this group, if they keep going out there and working, we'l be alright." says manager Tony LaRussa. But whether the Sox need an even keel or a kick in the ass, its tough not to be left wondering how fast can a team bounce back from this kind of losing streak and how long will the impact be felt?
At least for now, the bleeding has stopped, with a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals to stop an 8 game losing streak that felt even longer.
Dylan Cease was great on the mound for a third straight appearance going six innings with 9 strikeouts and just two runs given up. But the heroes in this one were Andrew Vaughn and Jake Burger.
Vaughn, who has been a popular name to discuss in terms of playing time, did himself plenty of favors in that category going 2-4 on the day, driving in fou runs, including the game winning three-run homerun in the 7th inning. Jake Burger did some heavy lfiting of his own going 3-4 on the day, coming up just a triple away from the cycle with a homerun, single and a double.
“It was exciting. That’s the only way to put it. It was awesome.” said Vaughn while describing the vibe of his heroic game. But the focus seemed to be on sustaining that excitement and using it to continue to claw their way further away from this slump, " I think we still have more in the tank.” said Vaughn.
Jake Burger's blast came in the 4th of Zack Greinke and made it a 3-0 game before KC would tie things up in the 7th inning. His 3 hits made it his first 3 hit game as a major leaguer. "It's been really nice with obviously José Abreu, Tim Anderson and guys like that that always are going to help me through a lot of things.”, With injuries to Eloy and Luis who has been out of the lineup, Burger's power surge is a welcomed sight.
Lost in thethe conversation of streaks ending was the White Sox also ending a 9 game error streak. Leading the league in that category, the defense has been in the worse shape in recent memory. But spirits were high across the board for a team that was in desperate need for a good day.