For a minute there in the top of the second when the Good Guys got on the board first, it felt like they might actually take the series. Then the bottom of the second inning happened, and poof, the vibes from the past couple of weeks packed up and left the building.

Chicago dropped the rubber match in a game that unraveled early and never really gave the Sox a chance to get back into it. For a team that has started to look watchable, this one felt like a throwback to the bad old days. By the end of the second frame, it had that all-too-familiar “this is over already” energy.

Rookie Noah Schultz simply didn’t have it. The southpaw hurled his ugliest outing of the season, lasting just 3 2/3 innings while allowing seven runs on seven hits, four walks, and three strikeouts. The command issues highlighted in the Game Thread were immediately evident, and the Angels made him pay.

After working around a leadoff walk in the first — with Drew Romo cutting down Zach Neto trying to steal — things fell apart in the second. A potential inning-ending double play fizzled when Colson Montgomery bobbled the ball before the turn, and then the wheels fell off. Travis d’Arnaud crushed a three-run bomb, Bryce Teodosio doubled, Neto tripled him home, and even a routine pop-up to Chase Meidroth turned into a run when he lost it in the sky. Five runs later, the game had that unmistakable 2024 White Sox feel.

It didn’t get much better from there. Osvaldo Bido came on in the fourth with the bases loaded and immediately plunked back-to-back batters to plate a pair. No sign of the Mike Vasil magic wand here.

Offensively, there just wasn’t enough. The Sox mustered only four hits, went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and struck out ten times. They did scratch across that run in the second, which was sparked by a Montgomery double and a bloop single from Meidroth, then driven in on a sac fly by Andrew Benintendi. However, even that inning ended with the bases loaded and nothing more to show for it.

They tried to make a little noise in the seventh. Meidroth singled, Benintendi walked, and after a couple of quick outs, Romo drew a walk to load them up. Sam Antonacci wore a pitch to force in a run, but that was it. Munetaka Murakami watched strike three, and the last gasp went with him.

The rest was mostly procedural. Chase Silseth struck out the side in the eighth, and the Angels tacked on another run in the bottom half against Grant Taylor.

So, no series win. Just a gentle reminder that while things have looked better lately, there’s still plenty of work to be done. Especially when it comes to avoiding those innings that spiral out of control.

The Sox head back to Chicago now with an off-day before welcoming the Seattle Mariners in for a three-game set.