BALTIMORE — Their 18-40 record might not reflect it, but the White Sox are playing more competitive baseball this season.
The Sox have played 17 one-run games so far and have won only three. Still, they have shown more fight than they did in 2024.
They brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth inning of their 4-2 loss Saturday to the Orioles at Camden Yards, but outfielders Luis Robert Jr. and Austin Slater struck out to end the game.
That followed their battle to the last strike in a 2-1 loss Friday after scoring in the ninth.
‘‘We’ve been going about our business really consistently every day,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘We come, and we’re prepared and expecting to win every day.
‘‘These guys are working extremely hard pregame. They have a great communication among each other and they’re connected, so I’m really happy about where our group’s been at the whole year and how we’re competitive.
‘‘And regardless of what happens the day before, we come to the field excited to play and expecting to win.’’
Playing in closer games this season was almost a given for the rebuilding Sox, considering they set a modern-era record with 121 losses and had an abysmal minus-306 run differential last season. They will take any improvement they can get.
The numbers show the Sox have been more competitive in 2025, with a minus-51 run differential to date. Ultimately, however, they’re still 18-40 overall and 6-25 on the road.
‘‘Those results matter,’’ Venable said. ‘‘We look at that record in the face every day, and we know that we have to get better. For us, it’s really about . . . there’s moments in the game where we have to do better, where we have to change our approach, we have to make adjustments, we have to learn from our mistakes and continue to get better.’’
The Sox have drawn more walks this season. They’re on pace for 511 after drawing a major-league-worst 395 last season.
But they have struggled to get key hits and have been unable to cash in on those walks or other baserunners. They are hitting a major-league-worst .205 with runners in scoring position.
On the mound, Sox starters made a drastic improvement from April to May. The collective ERA of their starters dropped from 4.73 in April to 3.62 in May, and their fielding-independent pitching numbers — FIP is similar to ERA but only accounts for what pitchers have control of (strikeouts, walks, hit batters and home runs) — also fell significantly, from 5.32 in April to 4.24 in May.
The addition of right-hander Adrian Houser to the rotation in mid-May is partly responsible for the turnaround. He is the fourth pitcher in Sox history to toss six scoreless innings in each of his first two starts with the team.
‘‘They’ve done a really nice job,’’ Sox general manager Chris Getz said last week. ‘‘And we’re gonna continue to support those players and try to find ways to navigate the remainder of the season, being that they’re young starters going through their first full seasons together. We’ll find times [to give them a breather], whether it be extra days of rest, maybe skip a start here or there to keep them healthy and productive. But that’s certainly been a bright spot for us.’’
In their previous series, the Sox outscored the Mets 14-12 in three games in New York, despite losing two out of three.
‘‘We definitely look back on games and note all the good things that happen,’’ Venable said. ‘‘At the same time, there are things we have to execute better. We want to learn from those and make sure we get them right.’’