White Sox manager Will Venable’s immediate reaction to losing Al Central lead

For 74 days, the Chicago White Sox held the top spot in the AL Central. But after their 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, the franchise now sits half a game back.

The White Sox took a brief 3-2 lead in the fifth inning via a Tommy Pham home run. But Petey Halpin would respond one frame later with a three-run homer of his own. The Guardians didn’t look back from there.

Chicago’s skid has been evident, most recently going 3-7 over their last 10 games. Seeing their AL Central lead slip away only adds insult to injury. The White Sox still hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians and are in Wild Card position should the Guardians win the division.

But their playoff spot no longer is secure. Their series loss to the Guardians will need to be a wake up caller before the South Siders further plummet.

White Sox’s Will Venable not backing down

Of course, manager Will Venable is upset to see his team lose such a crucial series. But he also sees the bigger picture. He knows the White Sox still has baseball to play and that their path to the playoffs hasn’t been vanquished, via Brian Dulik of MLB.com.

“We knew that this series wasn’t going to define the rest of the year for us,” Venable said. “Giving up the division lead, everybody will feel how they feel about it. But I’m proud of the guys and I think we’re in a good spot moving forward.”

The White Sox will end their regular season with a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers before three-game sets against the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies. The Tigers are five games out of a Wild Card spot while the other two franchise aren’t playoff bound.

At this stage of the season, the White Sox can’t take any team lightly. Venable and company know what they must do to clinch their spot in the postseason.

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