SEATTLE — Erick Fedde took a shutout into the eighth inning and led by four, thanks to a pair of White Sox home runs.
All was well as the Sox looked to win for the third time in four games following a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
But then, not much has gone well this season for the Sox, who lost for the 13th time Monday when taking a lead into the seventh inning or later.
Cal Raleigh’s walk-off grand slam against Jordan Leasure capped an eight-run blitz and powered the Mariners to an 8-4 victory. The Mariners (38-30), 18-5 in their last 23 home games, scored a run against Fedde and three against reliever Michael Kopech to tie it in the eighth.
Leasure walked two and gave up a single before Raleigh sent a 2-0 fastball into the right-field seats.
Michael Kopech pic.twitter.com/N4g83ivS2Z
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) June 11, 2024
After Dominic Canzone’s leadoff homer in the eighth, Sox manager Pedro Grifol pulled Fedde (3.10 ERA) at 93 pitches and called on Kopech, who sandwiched two singles around a walk to fill the bases with no outs.
Kopech struck out Julio Rodriguez with a 101-mph fastball, then caught Cal Raleigh looking on a call that got Mariners manager Scott Servais ejected by plate umpire Chris Guccione.
But Mitch Haniger hit a soft single into right field on an 0-2 count, scoring a pair to make it 4-3. Luke Raley’s bunt single scored Josh Rojas with the tying run.
Grifol said he went to Kopech in the eighth because he was warming up in the seventh when Fedde pitched out of a job.
“Kopech was more rested and maybe able to give us four or five outs, which Leasure couldn’t have,” Grifol said, “We pushed Leasure to do that but only because it was a one-pitch out to end [the eighth].”
Luis Robert Jr. broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer against Logan Gilbert in the sixth. Andrew Vaughn doubled and Lenyn Sosa singled Vaughn home in the seventh, and Corey Julks lined his third homer into the left-field seats to make it 4-0 in the eighth.
Fedde entered with a 4-0 record and 0.95 ERA in six home starts but was 0-1 with a 5.70 ERA on the road. He struck out four, walked one and gave up five hits. Grifol went to the bullpen after Fedde allowed Canzone’s homer “because I wanted to give Kopech a clean inning.”
Fedde has thrown 99 pitches or more three times, including 108, but “this guy takes the ball every time, going six, seven innings every time out, and we pushed him a couple times,” Grifol said.
“You got Kopech and Leasure, and they’re ready to go. Why would you do that? I let him go out for the eighth and see if he could buy us some outs, and it didn’t happen.”
Erick Fedde pic.twitter.com/Ji2Cys9e3k
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) June 11, 2024
The Sox, who rank 26th in the majors in homers, have homered in 11 straight games and are tied for second in the majors with 16 in June.
The Sox fell to 17-50.
“That one hurt for several reasons,” Kopech said. “To be blunt, Fedde pitched his ass off, and I gave up a really well-played game by us.
“Me overthrowing instead of pitching gave them a chance to put more runs on the board. I should have executed better against Haniger rather than trying to overpower him.”