Bullpen blip derails Sale’s bid for 15th win

SEATTLE — Chris Sale and his White Sox know that the road to success in Major League Baseball has its share of potholes, but once you steer around them, the pavement can be pretty smooth, maybe even all the way home.

The point couldn’t have been better illustrated by the strange events surrounding Chicago’s stunning 4-3 loss to the Mariners at Safeco Field, in which Sale was brilliant, building a 3-0 lead after eight one-hit innings, and White Sox closer David Robertson was not, allowing Seattle to score four runs with two outs in the ninth to give it all back.

“He did what an ace does,” Robertson said in a silent Chicago clubhouse mere minutes after Mariners pinch-hitter Adam Lind’s walkoff three-run home run cleared the wall in right center field. “He went eight innings, didn’t give up any runs, and I went in there and just blew it. I pitched poorly. I gave up hits, I walked guys and I didn’t get the job done. It’s pathetic on my part.”

But it’s over, and the White Sox were left to try as hard as they could to consider the positives that took place in what turned out to be a very successful first eight innings of Monday night’s game.

Take the fact that Monday night brought the lanky White Sox left-hander and recent American League All-Star starter to Safeco Field for his much-anticipated first outing since giving up a Kris …

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