CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox put up a late rally but fell 7-6 to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.
How it happened: White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija struggled yet again and gave up five runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. The White Sox trailed 3-0 in the first inning and 7-2 in the eighth before making things interesting. Tyler Saladino had a two-run single in a four-run eighth inning for the White Sox. Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma gave up two runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in his third start since pitching an Aug. 12 no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles.
What it means: It took just nine pitches for Samardzija to start down the path of his sixth consecutive defeat, as Kyle Seager homered. The first four Mariners batters reached base and scored three first-inning runs. Struggling with his command, lack of a split-finger pitch and mechanical adjustments, the right-hander has been out of sorts the entire month of August. He is 0-6 with an 8.82 ERA in six starts.
Outside the box: It only figured the White Sox would rally and make things interesting. Close games have been their habit all season. Of the White Sox's 128 games, 72 have been decided by two runs or fewer. Saturday was the 49th one-run game for the White Sox, which is the most in baseball. The White Sox are 23-26 in those contests.
Off beat: Defensive shifts are all the rage in baseball, but sometimes overloading one side of the field can't help. The White Sox tried a shift on Seager to lead off the third inning, but he placed a single over the head of second baseman Carlos Sanchez, who was playing in shallow right. Seager was later thrown out at home. In the fourth inning, Adam LaRoche rolled an RBI single through a defensive shift to right field.
Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Jose Quintana (7-10, 3.63 ERA) to the mound Sunday in the finale of the four-game series. The Mariners will counter with left-hander Edgar Olmos (1-0, 0.00) in the 1:10 p.m. CT start from U.S. Cellular Field.
