SEATTLE — Moral victories don’t count for much in this White Sox clubhouse.
They didn’t last year, either, when the Sox lost 102 games. Or the year before that, when they lost 121. Or in any big-league locker room with athletes who are programmed to broadcast that mentality.
But second baseman Chase Meidroth’s dissatisfaction was palpable after the now-competitive Sox’ latest comeback effort fell short in Seattle, on an afternoon he and his teammates left several scoring opportunities on the table en route to a 5-4 loss to drop the rubber match of a three-game set.
“We battled late, but we came out flat for three games,” Meidroth said. “That’s not the result we wanted. But it’s a long season. You move on to the next series.”
Meidroth was caught flat on his feet off third base in the sixth inning while trying to size up a safety squeeze bunt attempt that was pulled back by catcher Drew Romo.
Seattle catcher Jhonny Pereda caught Meidroth in a rundown to take the air out of the Sox’ two-on scoring threat. They walked away empty handed when Romo grounded out, keeping the score tied 2-2.
“He just got a little antsy,” manager Will Venable said of Meidroth. “It happens… One of those where you’ve just got to make sure the ball’s put in play.”
Pereda added injury to insult by taking Sox reliever Sean Newcomb deep with a solo home run the next inning, and Randy Arozarena added insurance Seattle would need with a two-run blast off Jordan Hicks later in the inning.
Meidroth’s gaffe aside, the Sox stranded nine base runners in a game that was there for the taking until the very last pitch, thanks to pinch hitter Randal Grichuk’s ninth-inning solo home run. Meidroth scored in the eighth on a throwing error by top Mariners prospect Colt Emerson, who threw wide to first trying to turn a double play.
Randal Grichuk goes yard! pic.twitter.com/qruNzTap0N
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 20, 2026
The Sox blew their biggest chance to capitalize in the second inning, when they drew three straight walks to load the bases against Mariners’ starter Emerson Hancock with no outs. He struck out Tristan Peters and got Romo to ground into a double play to end the threat.
“Every loss is tough in its own way,” Venable said. “This one, some opportunities where we didn’t execute, moments that we’ll grow from. But there’s some stuff out there, obviously, that we’ve got to clean up, and that was the difference in the game.”
The Mariners squandered a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity of their own in the fifth inning against Sox starter Sean Burke. Rookie utility man Sam Antonacci, who’s learning left field on the job, made a sliding catch on a shallow fly ball before the Sox got out of it with a popout and a groundout.
Arozarena had already pestered Burke for a pair of runs earlier in the game. He scored on a double by Dominic Canzone in the second after getting hit by a pitch, and again on a Patrick Wisdom two-bagger in the fourth thanks in part to an obstruction call that wasn’t as controversial as the one that got Venable tossed from the series opener on Monday.
Arozarena had stolen second on a play that looked worth a review, but umpires said Sox shortstop Luisangel Acuna blocked the base.
“Our replay guy confirmed that it was obstruction,” Venable said, whose team got its other two runs on RBI singles from Andrew Benintendi and Munetaka Murakami. “Just one of those hang-with-’ems.”
Burke gave up two runs on four hits, three walks and two hit batters over 4 ⅔ innings, sprinkling in five strikeouts.
“We came up a little short today with some stuff, me personally pitching-wise,” Burke said before the Sox headed to San Francisco a game over .500. “I know the offense, they wish they could have some at-bats back or some plays back. But we’re going to fight to the last pitch, you’ve seen that this whole year… The effort and the fight were still there.”