Chicago White Sox are attempting to not panic after a mind-numbing collection in opposition to the San Francisco Giants – Chicago Tribune

The Chicago White Sox have been in town long enough to unpack, get a nice meal, serve up 13 home runs to the San Francisco Giants, give infielder Hanser Alberto two relief appearances and embarrassingly lose two games in front of their fans.

After the shortest homestand, the Sox packed up after a 16-6 loss to the Giants and boarded a plane to Pittsburgh to begin a six-game trip.

If the Sox were a dating app, they’d be a quick swipe right. And if the first impression is lasting, this team is in big trouble.

We’ve watched this homestand enough to discover that manager Pedro Grifol has no problem sticking with starters or sending the same player up the mound twice in three days to save his bullpen.

We saw Andrew Vaughn and Tim Anderson chirp Giants pitchers who had the audacity to pull them back. We learned that Anderson, who was ejected early in Wednesday’s game, was okay for Grifol because he showed “passion” and that Thursday starter Lance Lynn was a “warrior” because he was trying to get through the fifth on a bad day inning to come.

“It’s a long season,” Anderson said. “This is only the second season. So we just have to move on and not sit in the moment. Embrace it and learn from it.”

Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores (41) celebrates his home run with first baseman Joc Pederson while White Sox catcher Seby Zavala, right, looks on during the sixth inning Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune)

The Sox can mitigate the damage with a strong performance in Pittsburgh and Minnesota. If not, it could be a really long season.

Catcher Seby Zavala said, “A bad streak doesn’t mean we’re done” and that “panic” isn’t a word for anyone to think of.

“If we panic, we’ll just shoot ourselves in the foot,” Zavala said.

The Sox can’t afford any more injuries, especially to their feet.

The 13 homers in a three-game streak equaled a Giants franchise record set in Milwaukee in 1961. The 15 homers allowed in the first seven games set a Sox franchise record.

Grifol repeatedly said Lynn “fought” and “gave us everything he had”. Maybe Lynn deserves a snow cone after the game. He gave up eight carries on nine hits over 4⅓ innings and allowed three of the Giants’ five home runs.

“I wasn’t good,” Lynn said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it. All in all it was a poor day.”

After giving up three singles and a walk during the fourth run, Lynn was sent back for fifth deficit, 6-3. Grifol said he knows his bullpen options are limited, adding, “At that point you start thinking about using a positional player.”

That would be Alberto, who set a major league record with 10 appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season and is on track at 46 appearances.

White Sox third baseman Hanser Alberto delivers in the ninth inning against the Giants Thursday at guaranteed rate field. It was Alberto’s second pitching appearance of the short season. (Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune)

“I don’t know if they are or if they came here hot,” Grifol said of the Giants’ punches. “We’ll find out.”

We’ll also find out if Eloy Jiménez’s off-season training program can keep him on the field after his first hamstring injury. The headline of an article in Thursday’s Sox game notes read, “Best Ability Is Availability.” The article noted that Lynn, Anderson, Jiménez, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. “all missed a significant time in 1922.”

But Jiménez was already on the 10-day injury list and Moncada was not in the line-up against left-hander Alex Wood. Moncada was one of the league’s hottest hitters but got the day off. Grifol said it was to keep Moncada “fresh and healthy”.

[ [Don’t miss] Eloy Jiménez feels “pretty normal” as the Chicago White Sox OF/DH recover from a minor hamstring strain ]

“You could play four days in a row and have a light workload,” he said. “Or they could play three days in a row and have a very heavy workload. So that’s what it’s about. We watch things like this and we think it will prove to be a very effective way of keeping these guys on the field and that’s how we’re going to do it.

The Sox need Moncada and Jiménez to have great years and Anderson to avoid being locked out of games. His first kick of the season didn’t bother Grifol.

“Tim Anderson is a passionate player, an exciting player, and part of that passion comes with a little bite and that’s how he’s responded,” Grifol said. “Tim is a smart boy, he knows what he’s doing. I have no problem with that.

“That’s how he plays the game. This is how I want him to play the game. As an organization, we want to bring that into this team. Personally, I have no problem with that.”

Anderson agreed.

“Yes, we always try to find something positive,” he said. “We always compete. Competing at a high level is something I always want to do and just keep going.”

Anderson was not in the batter’s box Wednesday when Logan Webb knocked him out. He was ejected moments later for complaining to Webb about pitching quickly. Webb didn’t think Anderson should have been sacked, but it’s too late to matter.

Anderson declined to revisit the incident, saying that anyone watching understands what happened.

“You saw what happened, you see what I said,” he said. “You have all the resources you need to understand the situation. We should just go on and on and not really make it an issue. It was a topic (Wednesday). I’m just about moving forward and trying to find the positivity.

Moving forward is the only option for these White Sox who can’t afford to look back.