Offensive and defensive grit carry the White Sox in a narrow win
Characterizing the White Sox as gritty would’ve been a hilarious misnomer last year, but it was the name of today’s game. After being dealt a spoonful of their own medicine and accepting a rain-induced loss last night, the Good Guys displayed more tenacity in all nine innings of their 2-1 win over the Blue Jays than they have all season to snap the AL East leader’s 10-game steamroll.
Adrian Houser best embodied this steely mentality in his earnest start. Expectations for Houser have grown after his last two, seven- and eight-inning, quality starts against the Giants and Rockies made such a statement. The Blue Jays put Houser to work early, recording four of their nine hits, scoring their only run off Tyler Heineman’s strong bunt down the first-base line, and pushing his pitch count to 35 before the third inning. Although Houser came up empty when trying to get Heineman out on his bunt, it didn’t burn the team.
Tyler Heineman: 80-grade BUNTER pic.twitter.com/1FCGQl2H1e
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 9, 2025
He went on to pitch five fairly clean innings after that and seven total, earning his fifth win after surrendering nine hits, a run, and two walks in seven frames. Houser’s ERA and WHIP now comfortably sit at 1.56 and 1.13 entering the All-Star break — hello, sell-high trade candidate!
The rest of the defense did its part, albeit sloppy on several occasions. The infield turned three double plays, including a brilliant double play by Tim Elko in the second to hold Toronto at one run:
The defense also somehow minimized damage despite a comedy of mistakes that unfolded in the third inning: With one out and Bo Bichette on first, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s pop-up should’ve been a routine fly out by Miguel Vargas. Instead, the ball fell right in front of the puzzled third baseman and even more confused Houser, who assumed Vargas was securing the second out. Vargas at least recovered in time to force Bo Bichette out at second. But the clown show didn’t stop there.
Facing Addison Barger, Houser committed the Sox’s second comedic mistake with a pickoff attempt that got past Tim Elko at first, advancing Guerrero to second on the error. Chase Meidroth made a routine cut-off throw to Colson Montgomery, but Montgomery’s lackadaisical fielding extended the sequence that resembled much of 2024’s D. Instead of getting punished by their foolish mistakes, though, the Sox got bailed out by Guerrero, who made a play for third when he should’ve settled for second, ending the inning in true Chicago fashion — with plenty of dismay and eye-rolling.
Offensively, the Sox scrapped by on six hits. Edgar Quero made the lineup look good, securing two of the six hits and playing a part in both runs scored. His RBI double in the fourth plated Austin Slater, knotting the game at one apiece. Two batters later, he scored the go-ahead run on Lenyn Sosa’s RBI single. Beyond Quero, though, the box score is troublesome. The lineup accumulated 12 strikeouts, including Elko narrowly escaping a golden sombrero, leaving seven on base and going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Even with a 10-minute rain delay, determination and a stroke of luck graced the Sox, allowing them to evade another sweep. Even Jordan Leasure, who makes me groan and gnash my teeth as he takes the mound in close games, ponied up and secured his second save with a quiet ninth.
The Sox get a little longer than 24 hours to rest before Cleveland comes to town. Chicago looks to take advantage of the not-so-confident Guards, who until July 8 had dropped 10 straight due to an absent offense. Jonathan Cannon is set to face Logan Allen in an equally-matched battle on Thursday at 6:40 CST.
Futility Watch
White Sox 2025 Record: 31-62, tied for the second–worst start in White Sox history and tied for the 78th-worst start in baseball history. A 31-62 record projects to 54-108 over a full season. A year ago, the record-breaking White Sox were 26-67.
All-Time White Sox Record (1901-2025, 19,299 games) 9,625-9,674 (.4987). It’s been 137 games since the White Sox had an all-time winning record. The White Sox are currently 49 games worse than .500 and falling under by 66 more games will land the team at its lowest point in its 125-year history.
Record Since the New Pope Was Revealed as a White Sox Fan 21-33
Race With the Colorado Rockies for to the Worst Record in 2025 9 ½ games better
- Race to the Worst “Modern” 162-Game Record (2024 White Sox, 41-121)
- Race to the Worst “Modern” Record in a 162-Game Season (1962 Mets, 40-120-1, finished three percentage points worse than the 2024 White Sox)
- Race to the Most White Sox Losses (2024, 121)
- Race to the Worst White Sox Record (2024, 41-121)
13 games better, in all cases