A mistake on the bases in the sixth inning cost the Chicago White Sox a tying run Tuesday night, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on for a 6-5 win at Rodgers Centre.

Chicago had cut the deficit to 6-5 with two runs in the inning when Yasmani Grandal hit an apparent sacrifice fly that brought Reese McGuire in from third. Danny Mendick, however, tagged up and tried to advance to second. Blue Jays left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. threw him out before McGuire crossed the plate, and second baseman Cavan Biggio, with his back to Mendick, made a slick tag. Plate umpire Adrian Johnson waved off the run.

Manager Tony La Russa said Mendick apologized afterward. "First of all, it was a good play," La Russa said. "But when you tag up and have the play in front of you and the throw goes there, you have to stop. You stop."

Mendick said he had hoped to put the tying run in scoring position with two outs for Andrew Vaughn. "I'm an aggressive player," he said. "It might not have been the best situation to do that with the runner on third, but if I'm going to make a mistake, it's going to be aggressive." He called Gurriel's throw and the tag "a perfect play."

Vaughn had the first four-hit game of his career. With the lineup missing Tim Anderson, Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez, he was the club's best hitter, homering, doubling and singling in his first three at-bats against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-3). He added a leadoff single in the ninth against closer Jordan Romano, and Jose Abreu singled him to second. Jake Burger then hit into a double play and Gavin Sheets struck out. "We didn't win, so it's a crummy feeling," Vaughn said.

Mendick, who filled in for the injured Anderson, doubled and singled, drove in two runs and scored one. Grandal, batting leadoff for the 16th time in his career, went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, and his average fell to .136.

White Sox starter Lucas Giolito (3-2) struck out eight but allowed eight hits over 4 ⅔ innings. Alejandro Kirk homered in Toronto's two-run second inning and again in its four-run fifth. Giolito took responsibility after Chicago had given him a 3-2 lead. "In the fifth inning, I just gave it up," he said. The Sox (23-24) have lost four of their last six games, and La Russa described their effort as "hellacious."

Chicago is also playing the first two games of the series one player short of a full 26-man roster. Starter Dylan Cease and reliever Kendall Graveman, who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, are on the restricted list because Canada requires entrants to be vaccinated at least 14 days before entry. Because Cease pitched more than four innings against the Cubs on Sunday, the Sox cannot replace him on the active roster until Thursday. Reliever Kyle Crick took Graveman's spot.

Leury Garcia sat out with a sore hip but said he expects to play Wednesday. Separately, the schedule for the White Sox's August series in Kansas City has changed, with a doubleheader at 3:10 p.m. on Aug. 9 and single games on Aug. 10 at 7:10 p.m. and Aug. 11 at 1:10 p.m.