The Chicago White Sox have been struggling for nearly a month and are now making unwanted history.
On Sunday, the White Sox lost their 20th straight game, marking the longest losing streak in Major League Baseball in 36 years and just one short of the American League record. Chris Flexen was pulled early in a 13-7 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
“Running out of words for it,” Flexen said.
Royce Lewis hit a three-run home run off Flexen during a six-run second inning, giving the Twins an 8-0 lead. The White Sox (27-87) fought back and brought the score to 10-7 in the eighth inning, but couldn’t come any closer.
“At the end of the day, we’ve lost 20 in a row. That’s painful. That sucks,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “We’ve just got to find a way to put that behind us and go out there and be professionals and do what we have to do tomorrow.”
This losing streak is the longest for the White Sox in the team’s history and the worst in the big leagues since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles lost 21 games in a row to start the season. The National League record is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 straight games.
The record for the most losses in Major League Baseball belongs to the 1889 Louisville Colonels, an American Association team that had a 26-game losing streak during a 27-111 season.
Next, the White Sox will travel to Oakland for a three-game series starting Monday night against the Athletics, who are at the bottom of the AL West.
“It’s very difficult,” Chicago center fielder Luis Robert Jr. said through a translator. “There’s nothing else we can do, just try to come here every day as we’ve been doing it and try to win games.”
The White Sox’s losing streak is tied with four other teams for the third-longest since 1900: the 1969 Montreal Expos; the 1943 and 1916 Philadelphia Athletics; and the 1906 Boston Americans.
The latest loss dropped the White Sox 60 games below .500 for the first time in franchise history. They are on track to finish 38-124, which would be the most losses since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders of the National League, who went 20-134.
The White Sox last won on July 10 against Minnesota, 3-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.
During the losing streak, the White Sox have been outscored 131-48. Their seven runs and 12 hits on Sunday were the most they have had in a game during this streak.
