CHICAGO -- The following statements aren’t excuses in regard to the underachieving White Sox but statements of fact following their 5-1 loss to the Cubs before a sold-out crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday night.

Center fielder Luis Robert, one of the team’s best overall players, once again was out of the White Sox lineup on the COVID injured list. General manager Rick Hahn believes Robert will return by next weekend’s series at the Rays at the latest.

• Box score

Third baseman Yoán Moncada was sidelined with a left quad issue, while left fielder Eloy Jiménez departed his first injury rehabilitation game with Triple-A Charlotte after two at-bats Saturday due to right leg soreness and is now day to day.

Are the White Sox a bit undermanned? Definitely, but then again, so are many Major League teams. And the White Sox are too good to be so inconsistent offensively, as they fell to 22-23 overall and stayed five games behind the Twins in the American League Central.

Their record is only three games better at this point than the Cubs (19-26), who are in some form of a rebuild. The results might not be there regularly, but the South Siders’ confidence has not waned.

“We never have a doubt in ourselves and the talent we have in this clubhouse,” said White Sox third baseman Jake Burger, who had three hits, including a home run on National Hamburger Day. “Eventually it's going to turn around. I think we do that day by day and pitch by pitch. I think we're going in the right direction."

“This is a good group with a lot of talent,” said Johnny Cueto, who allowed five runs over 6 2/3 innings in the loss, through interpreter Billy Russo. “This is a happy clubhouse and everybody likes to have fun. There’s plenty of season to play. We’ll see.”

Cueto didn’t allow a run over his first two starts since joining the White Sox and brought a 19-7 record with a 2.69 ERA over his Interleague career into the White Sox third game and first loss against the Cubs this season. But the three runs scored by an aggressive, young Cubs team in the first two innings were enough behind Keegan Thompson and four relievers.

Chances existed for the White Sox, who knocked out seven hits but finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven. They had runners on first and second in the seventh, only to have Tim Anderson ground into an inning-ending double play.

In the second inning, Yasmani Grandal was thrown out at home plate by Rafael Ortega on Burger’s two-out single to right. It marked the ninth White Sox runner to be thrown out at home this season, tying them for the league lead. Pushing the envelope, though, sometimes is a way to get a team out of the offensive doldrums.

“I patted Joe [McEwing, third-base coach] on the back,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “That’s one of the things you do when you’re struggling, man. You have to push. The ground ball that way, guy rushed it good, made a strong throw, so I thought you had to send him. They had to make a throw to stop it.”

Saturday’s loss dropped the White Sox to 1-3 on this homestand, having been outscored by a 38-14 margin. They are 6-12 over their last 18 at Guaranteed Rate Field, after starting 4-1.

Hahn spoke before this loss, primarily about veteran hurler Dallas Keuchel being designated for assignment. But Hahn also was asked about the offense, and he believes what has been shown at the plate is not a true representation of this team.

“We’ve seen this group for a while now, and we know the type of at-bats they’re capable of putting together,” Hahn said. “We’ve seen games in the last week where we’ve had a more patient approach and spit on balls out of the zone and taken our walks, and as a result damage followed.

“That’s more of who we are. It’s understandable when, for whatever variety of reasons -- the spring, weird start -- guys start pressing a little bit when they look up there and see the numbers a little below of what they’re accustomed to seeing. The guys on a whole taking a step back and stringing together good at-bats they’re capable of doing will rectify any offensive shortcomings we’ve had, and the numbers will follow.

“Occasionally you need to tip your cap to the pitcher sometimes. But we know this offense is capable of more, and we’ve seen it over the last few seasons.”