Devers’ grand – Rafael Devers hit a grand slam off Grant Taylor as the White Sox fell 8-5 to the Giants on Sunday, dropping their record to 2-4 on their West Coast trip and leaving them entering Memorial Day at 26-26 despite recent momentum.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Sox got an early reminder of how quickly a game can swing on this West Coast trip: they jumped in front with big moments, they tied it up, and still, one collapse in the late innings changed the entire picture.
Rafael Devers’ grand slam off Grant Taylor put the final stamp on the White Sox’ Sunday finale against the Giants. an 8-5 loss that dropped Chicago to 2-4 on their westerly sojourn. For a team that has been hovering around .500 while still rebuilding. it was another example of how thin the margin can be—take away a couple of big swings from the opponent. and the Sox likely look different; take away a couple of big innings from the Sox’ offense. and they could’ve been swept out of Seattle and San Francisco just as easily.
Rookie starter Noah Schultz struggled through the middle innings and finished with six runs on six hits. along with a walk and a strikeout. before the Sox turned to their bullpen after the fifth. Manager Will Venable said the team didn’t execute situationally in ways they have “done before. ” adding that the Sox were still in a moment of work rather than panic with a homestand ahead that includes divisional opponents.
Chase Meidroth gave the Sox life early. He crushed the eighth pitch of his at-bat against Giants starter Robbie Ray for a home run to left-center, and then the game stayed open—until Schultz ran into trouble with the leadoff.
Schultz opened the day with a leadoff walk to Willy Adames, who scored when Casey Schmitt doubled. Devers followed with an RBI double that clanked off the right-field bricks at Oracle Park. In the third, Schmitt clubbed a two-run homer off Schultz. Luisangel Acuna’s sacrifice fly scored Derek Hill in the fourth.
By the time San Francisco walked the bases loaded to open the fifth, the Sox were stuck trying to thread their way back again.
They did. The Sox tied the game 4-4 when Colson Montgomery knocked an RBI groundout and Edgar Quero added a single.
But in the bottom of the fifth, Venable made the change. Schultz allowed more damage immediately—serving up a double to Adames and plunking Luis Arraez for the second time in the game—before he was replaced.
Grant Taylor, the Sox’ second-year reliever, didn’t steady the ship. He walked the bases loaded and then surrendered the grand slam to Devers. The homer was the first big-league home run Taylor had allowed. and the outing came with an added sting: his fastball velocity was down a tick in San Francisco.
Late, the Sox still found a spark. Miguel Vargas hit a solo shot—his 12th of the year—in the seventh to narrow the gap for naught in the eighth. It was the same kind of momentum swing that had kept the Sox afloat earlier in the week.
They won Friday’s series opener on a nine-run fourth inning, but were hitless the rest of the game. In Seattle, the only game they managed to steal came from a ninth-inning rally capped by two RBI infield singles.
Taylor, asked about the mindset after the loss, said there was no need for panic. “No one is hitting the panic button,” he said. “We’ve been playing a lot of really good baseball over the last few weeks.”
That belief matters because the standings still tell a story of progress—just not a clean one. Nearly a third of the way through the season. the Sox are 26-26. good for second place in the wide-open American League Central. They are four and a half games back of Cleveland and still holding a wild-card spot.
There’s been extra encouragement, too. The Sox are only two and a half games behind the free-falling Cubs, and after three straight springs where Chicago effectively looked out of contention before the season even started, the team is trying to make a statement during the final stretch of May.
Their homestand begins with matchups against the Twins and Tigers. Taylor said the Sox expected to be in the current situation. pointing to recent play: “We’ve been .500-plus the past few games — we’ve always been looking forward to that.” He added the goal is still the bigger one—making the postseason and winning games “in October.”.
After Sunday’s grand slam, the West Coast road trip ended in a way no .500 team wants. Still. Venable’s message landed on the same point Taylor made afterward: the Sox are treating the gaps as work. not an alarm. With Memorial Day approaching. they’re back where they can feel the floor beneath them—yet every bad inning. every missed situational moment. still has the power to erase progress in a hurry.
White Sox San Francisco Giants Rafael Devers Grant Taylor Noah Schultz Will Venable Memorial Day MLB American League Central Cubs