​Although one of the best clutch teams in the game, the Tampa Bay Rays failed with runners in scoring position on Friday night, going 0-for-6 vs. the Brewers. | (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) As the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays battle for a World Series title, Chicago’s struggles with runners in scoring position reveal an offensive weakness the White Sox must address.The Rays spent six months making runners in scoring position (RISP) a strength. On Friday night, six missed opportunities helped turn their 2026 World Series opener into a loss.Tampa Bay went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position against the Brewers, falling 3-2 despite advancing the tying run 90 feet from home in the ninth inning. A team that led Major League Baseball with a .283 batting average in those situations suddenly found itself searching for one more productive swing.“We had traffic on the bases pretty much all night,” Rays shortstop Taylor Walls told MLB.com. “But [we] weren’t able to get that big hit, that timely hit, the double with a runner on first or a single with runners in scoring position.”More than 1,200 miles away, the White Sox could recognize the frustration.Chicago’s postseason ended against Cleveland with a different statistical problem but a similar consequence: Runners never reached home plate.The White Sox hit .243 with RISP during the regular season, ranking 22nd in the majors. They struck out 397 times in 1,361 official at-bats in those situations, a 29.2% K-rate.By comparison, Tampa Bay hit .283 with RISP, while Milwaukee followed at .276. Both clubs combined consistent contact with aggressive baserunning, providing a different offensive model than Chicago’s power-oriented lineup.The problem became particularly evident during the American League Division Series.Although the White Sox hit .275 with runners in scoring position across seven postseason games, they struck out 21 times in 51 at-bats with RISP. Cleveland pitchers struck out 75 Chicago hitters during the five-game ALDS, including an all-time record of 21 in the decisive Game 5.Manager Will Venable acknowledged that the problem extended beyond chasing pitches outside the strike zone, to misses in the zone, and his assessment revealed a fundamental challenge: Against elite pitching, even hitters making reasonable swing decisions can struggle to produce contact.That becomes particularly costly with a runner on third and fewer than two outs, as a sacrifice fly or a well-placed ground ball can score a run without a hit. A strikeout, however, leaves the runner exactly where he started.Modern hitting philosophies emphasize power, patience and avoiding unnecessary outs. Those principles have merit, but postseason baseball frequently demands a more situational approach.Milwaukee demonstrated that on Friday.Christian Yelich drove home Jackson Chourio with a first-inning triple, William Contreras followed with an RBI single, and Chourio added a two-out RBI single in the seve