White Sox Injuries Pile Up in Devastating Loss to Guardians

Miguel Vargas appeared to have tied the game—until disaster struck.

With two outs in the ninth inning, the bases loaded, and the White Sox trailing the Guardians by two, Vargas squared up a 100 mph cutter from All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase. His hard-hit ground ball shot through the left side of the infield and into the outfield as third base coach Justin Jirschele aggressively waved the tying run home.

But Mike Tauchman, who represented the tying run, never made it home. After rounding third, he pulled up lame, collapsing to his knees as he was tagged out before reaching the plate. It was a brutal ending for the White Sox, who not only saw their comeback bid fall painfully short but also lost two players to injury in the process, extending their losing streak to seven games.

After the game the White Sox announced that Tauchman was dealing with right-hamstring tightness. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Thursday. The injury came the same day that the team announced Andrew Benintendi was heading to the 10-day IL with a left adductor strain. 

But that wasn’t the only injury casualty the White Sox suffered on Wednesday. Catcher Korey Lee left the game in the sixth inning after injuring his ankle while trying to get back to first base on a pickoff attempt. 

With Lee and Tauchman on the shelf, the White Sox selected the contracts of former White Sox catcher Omar Narvaez and outfielder Joshua Palacios from Triple-A Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham. Right-handed pitcher Juan Carela was released in a corresponding move to make room on the 40-man roster. Palacios signed a minor league deal earlier this month after electing free agency following his outright assignment by Pittsburgh.

Lee was off to a hot start, hitting .333 with two doubles in his first 15 at-bats. Meanwhile, Tauchman, who just returned to the lineup after starting the season on the IL, was also productive. In his first three games in a White Sox uniform, the Palestine native logged four hits and a pair of walks in 12 at-bats.