Tony La Russa came under fire for intentionally walking a batter with two strikes earlier in the week.
Tony La Russa was feeling the heat from Chicago White Sox fans Saturday as the American League Central team lost to the Texas Rangers in 10 innings 11-9.
Fans at Guaranteed Rate Field chanted “Fire Tony!” during the extra-innings loss.
The added scrutiny came after the Hall of Famer made a perplexing decision to intentionally walk Los Angeles Dodgers batter Trea Turner with two strikes last week.
“I hear it with one ear, and I see it with one eye. I just know I appreciate (that) they want us to win. And, when we don’t win, they’re unhappy,” La Russa said.
“There isn’t anything that’s happening with this team that, in the end, I’m not responsible for. Never dodged accountability and I won’t start now.”
Chicago dropped to 27-30 with the loss and its cold start puts the team in danger of missing the playoffs after two straight years making the postseason. The La Russa-led squad won the AL Central last season. La Russa is in the middle of his second season with Chicago.
Chicago is 4-6 to start the month of June. The team sits six games behind the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central lead and two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for second place.
The White Sox wrap up their three-game set with the Rangers Sunday and then hit the road to play the Detroit Tigers.
