Between an offense rated next-to-last in the American League in wRC+, and a starting rotation dealing with multiple injuries, the White Sox’s surprisingly decent start was fueled by bullpen magic. So there’s an extra layer of troubling slapped on top of the misery of three-straight blown leads in Anaheim.
An encouraging four-run lead quickly was wiped away amid hellish control problems from Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez. Mike Trout drove in the first runs against Anthony Swarzak all season and the Angels eked a pretty easy 12-8 victory to cap a three-game sweep.
Staked to a 4-0 lead after a surprising offensive breakthrough against Angels starter Matt Shoemaker, Gonzalez fell apart for a four-walk second inning, punctuated by a Ben Revere RBI triple into the right-center gap.