Todd Frazier said simplicity is the key to keeping the White Sox on track.
The club enters Wednesday in the midst of its second three-game losing streak of the season, it’s lead in the division having been trimmed to 3.5 games.
But Frazier — who is back in the lineup after he missed Tuesday’s game because of illness — said the team isn’t panicked about a rough spell that has included losses in five of six games. White Sox players know the importance of worrying about the current day’s contest instead of looking at the big picture and that should keep them steady, Frazier said.
“You’re going to go through these little lulls,” Frazier said. “It’s going to happen more than once, and you have to find a way to focus on getting W’s. It starts with the pitching staff, get us going and then let us hitters do our job.”
The White Sox offense did its job for the most part on Tuesday in spite of Frazier’s absence. Though they stranded nine base runners, the club scored at least five runs for the eighth time in 10 contests (they’re 5-5 in that stretch).
But the bullpen let down again, yielding three runs over the game’s final four innings. Matt Albers allowed a game-winning home run to Evan Gattis in the top of the 11th and the White Sox came up just short in a 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros.
While a bout with the flu prevented Frazier from an early arrival on Tuesday, he did eventually show up and made a brief appearance in the on-deck circle. Frazier would have hit for Avisail Garcia had Jose Abreu extended a ninth-inning rally. But after the game, White Sox manager Robin Ventura still was uncertain if Frazier would play in the second game of the series.
MLB
Frazier said he feels much better Wednesday after a lot of fluids.
He also likes the attitude and mix of players in the clubhouse and knows that goes a long way at all times.
“We've got good character,” Frazier said. “We have guys that step up. It seems like a different guy every day, I've said that before. We've got guys coming up. We have new pitchers coming up that are coming to play and hitters as well. We've seen a lot of roster moves. We've seen a lot of guys coming up here with the mentality they had in spring training know we have a really good squad and everyone wants to help out.”