White Sox end first half with sweep against Pirates

The White Sox had Pirates starter Mitch Keller under pressure on Sunday, loading the bases in the first and third innings. But the Sox managed just one run in those situations and led by just one run after three innings. The Pirates scored three runs in the fourth and four in the seventh to pull away.

The inability to score runs has been a problem for the Sox all season – they rank last in the major leagues in batting average with runners in scoring position – and that mattered in the weekend series.

The Sox lost their final game before the All-Star break, 4-9, getting swept for the 13th time this season and falling 44 games below their .500 record.

“It’s not the first half we wanted, but we just have to keep going and play hard,” said left fielder Andrew Benintendi.

With this loss – the Sox’s 71st of the season – they extended their major league record for most losses before an All-Star break. The Sox are flirting with the 1962 Mets for most losses in a season, and that says everything you need to know about their first half.

“Of course it’s disappointing,” said coach Pedro Grifol before the game. “It’s not something we had planned. Something we didn’t really expect.”

The Sox lead the majors in blown saves (23) and have won just six series. They enter the break with a four-game losing streak.

“You can’t narrow it down to one area because there were times when we made mistakes defensively, mentally and physically,” Grifol said. “There were times when we didn’t execute a game plan. There were times when we left a ball over the plate when we were pitching.”

The Sox now turn their attention to the draft as management looks to expand the farm system in the coming days.

After that, the transfer deadline takes center stage and the Sox have several players who could help the playoff contenders.

This team could look very different after the July 30 trade deadline. Grifol understands the circumstances the Sox find themselves in as sellers, but he said he has seen situations where a team was willing to trade and ended up staying together.

“We can’t deny that this is an uncomfortable couple of weeks for some of these guys,” Grifol said. “That’s the reality. The understanding that you might be here, you might not be here, is real.”

Rumors of a trade have been circulating since the team’s 3-22 start. USA Today reported Sunday that the Sox have every intention of trading All-Star Garrett Crochet and are more optimistic that they can also trade center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Reliever Michael Kopech, shortstop Paul DeJong and right fielder Tommy Pham could also be traded. The moves could affect the camaraderie of the team, but are necessary as the front office continues to build the organization.

“It’s part of the deal,” catcher Korey Lee said. “I dealt with it last year when I came to a new organization (Lee was traded in the Kendall Graveman trade). It’s just part of the game and you have to accept it.”

Although there is some uncertainty for the Sox, players and coaches were looking forward to the break to put the turbulent first half behind them and prepare for Friday’s game against Kansas City.

“We just have to take this break, refocus and play baseball,” Grifol said.