CHICAGO _ Hold off on that Michael-Pineda-seems-to-have-found-it narrative.
Some goes for the Yankees' offense.
Wednesday night, both earned goat-horn status in a 5-0 loss to the White Sox in front of 21,144 at U.S. Cellular Field.
First, the offense.
The Yankees (41-43), who fell to 2-4 on this three-city, 10-game trip before the All-Star break, were shut out over seven innings by Miguel Gonzalez, a pitcher who came in 1-4 with a 4.88 ERA. He allowed just five hits.
The Yankees had eight hits overall, three apiece by Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius.
This, after banging out 20 hits the night before.
The performance did not bode well for a four-game series that starts Thursday night against the AL Central-leading Indians, who lead the AL in ERA (3.61), WHIP (1.20), opponents' average (.235), and shutouts (seven), among other categories.
Pineda, meanwhile, was unable to keep what had been his best stretch of the season going.
The right-hander, who came in 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA in his last six starts, allowed five runs and five hits over six innings. He fell to 3-8 with a 5.38 ERA, undone Wednesday by a four-run second inning in which the White Sox (44-41) scored all of their runs with two outs.
The Yankees, who went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, outhit Chicago 8-5.
Jacoby Ellsbury hit a leadoff single and he moved to second on Brett Gardner's ground out to first. After Carlos Beltran flied to left, Brian McCann walked, but Mark Teixeira struck out to end the 24-pitch inning.
Pineda retired the first five batters he faced, then came apart.
Brett Lawrie singled with two outs and went to second on a passed ball, which seemed to rattle Pineda.
He walked Dioner Navarro, then allowed an RBI single on a 2-and-1 slider to Avisail Garcia. J.B. Shuck, the No. 9 hitter, pounced on a straight 95-mph fastball and sent it left for an RBI double that made it 2-0. Tim Anderson then yanked a 0-and-2 slider past a diving Chase Headley at third for a two-run double that made it 4-0.
An aggressive Ellsbury tried to get the momentum back in the third. He ripped one into the right-field corner and headed for second. Right-fielder Adam Eaton, however, showed off his cannon arm, throwing a strike to the shortstop, Anderson, who applied the tag just before a sliding Ellsbury arrived.
The Yankees blew their best scoring chance of the night, to that point, in the fifth. Gregorius led off with a single and went all the way to third on Chase Headley's ground out to second as the overshift left third base unoccupied. But Aaron Hicks popped out and Ellsbury grounded out to end the threat.
The White Sox added on in the sixth when Pineda hit Melky Cabrera with a pitch and allowed a single to Todd Frazier, which put Cabrera on third. Cabrera came in on Lawrie's 4-6 fielder's choice, making it 5-0.
Gregorius doubled with two outs in the seventh but Headley lined to right to end the inning.
Nathan Eovaldi, making his first relief appearance since being put in the bullpen, took over for Pineda in the seventh. The right-hander, 6-6 with a 5.54 ERA as a starter this season, walked two and struck out one over two shutout innings.
