Chicago, Illinois - The Boston Red Sox fell short on Friday night to the Chicago White Sox, but they still have a good grasp on a playoff spot as the MLB regular season is nearing the postseason.

The Red Sox tried to make a late push but couldn’t get the win on the road in Chicago, falling to the White Sox in a close one, 4-3.

Boston came into the weekend with a hold on the first AL Wild Card spot, just a game ahead of the Yankees, who also lost on Friday.

Last season’s AL MVP José Abreu (34) almost single-handedly won the game for the White Sox with a three-run homer early on in the action to put Chicago up for good. Luis Robert went 1-for-5, adding Chicago’s fourth run in the fourth inning.

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The Red Sox have been dealing with a recent brush with Covid-19, only just getting back shortstop Xander Bogaerts, but immediately losing ace pitcher Chris Sale after he tested positive just a day ago.

Carlos Rodón improves to 12-5, pitching five innings for the White Sox, allowing only one run and three hits, while Liam Hendriks earned his 34th save of the year.

Apart from Abreu’s home run, there wasn’t much more offensive baseball from either side – definitely not from the Red Sox, who only finally scored a run in the fifth inning thanks to Bobby Dalbec. He also hit a triple and scored a run during a small seventh-inning rally that ultimately fell short.

Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck allowed four runs and four hits over 3.2 innings to remain winless on the season.

The second of their three-game series is on Saturday night, again from Chicago.