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Sox's Sale takes blame for rare rough outing

[May 26, 2016] CHICAGO -- Chris Sale's uncharacteristically rocky outing against the Cleveland Indians this week hardly diminishes a superlative season to date.

The White Sox left-hander (9-1, 2.26 ERA) suffered his first loss of the season on Tuesday after allowing six runs on seven hits, one home run and four walks over 3 1/3 innings pitched in a 6-2 Chicago loss.

But even as post-game analysis commenced, Sale was already looking ahead to his next start on Sunday, noting some changes in performance that he detected while viewing post-game video.

"I ran into a buzzsaw, just had a bad night," he said. "I'm usually not a big fan of this, but after all this watching video and figuring out some things I saw some things that I was doing. I just have to tighten up and move on.

"We didn't lose, I lost," he said. "Hopefully we can build on that and be better tomorrow."

Chicago catcher Alex Avila said shared the blame for the outing and said Sale's one poor effort is but one bump in the greater scheme of a season.

"He's 9-1 now, he's still pretty good," Avila said.

Sale's six earned runs were the most allowed and innings pitched were his least since Sept. 13, 2015, vs. Minnesota. His streak of winning nine consecutive starts to open a season was tied for the eighth-longest in major league history, and the longest since Andy Hawkins in 1985 (10).

Sale gets a chance to bounce back on Sunday in a series finale at Kansas City.

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MLB Team Report - Chicago White Sox - NOTES, QUOTES

RECORD: 27-21

STREAK: Lost three

NEXT: White Sox (RHP Miguel Gonzalez, 0-1, 4.57 ERA) at Royals (LHP Danny Duffy, 0-0, 2.13 ERA)

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PLAYER NOTES:

--LHP Jose Quintana (5-4) took the loss after a six-inning effort as Chicago dropped its third straight and ninth of its last 12. He allowed three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out eight. It was his third consecutive loss -- the first time he's lost that many in a row since May 2015. Quintana said he's not discouraged despite Chicago's recent slump. "The last couple series have been tough," he said. "Maybe we can come back (to) how we started. We're good, everybody's good. Everybody's healthy. That's all you need for wins. We're going to win."

--1B Jose Abreu had his second straight three-hit game Wednesday. He's batting .313 with seven doubles, one triple, three home runs, 18 RBIs and 12 runs scored over his last 27 games. Abreu recording his first three-hit game of the season Tuesday. He's hit safely in 23 of his last 26 games against the Indians for a .347 average with seven homers and 16 RBIs.

--DH Avisail Garcia went 2-for-4 and is hitting .329 with five doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and 12 runs scored over his last 21 games. Wednesday marked his 10th multi-hit game of the season.

--RHP Miguel Gonzalez (0-1, 4.57 ERA) is scheduled to make his fifth start of the season and fourth on the road in the opener of a three-game weekend series at Kansas City. He suffered the loss on May 21 against the Royals, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out eight over six innings. Gonzalez is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in two outings at Kauffman Stadium.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We just have to regroup whether it's at home or on the road and do better producing when you get opportunities when you get guys on base." -- Manager Robin Ventura after Chicago lost its their third straight game to Cleveland.

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