The Chicago White Sox had a 2-1 lead as they entered the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday, but then history happened.
In just four batters, that slim lead vanished, leading to the White Sox’s 120th loss, which ties the post-1900 record set by the 1962 expansion New York Mets.
The contrast was striking. The White Sox walked into a quiet clubhouse and packed up for their flight home.
Meanwhile, the Padres, who are close to securing a postseason spot, gathered in front of their dugout to celebrate with the sellout crowd of 45,197 that cheered loudly during the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth in their 4-2 victory, which was the regular-season home finale on a beautiful first day of autumn.
Some fans even chanted “Beat L.A.!” as they looked forward to a big series starting Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I guess when you lose 120 it’s easier to brush it off but it (stinks) to go through it, but that’s where we’re at,” veteran Andrew Benintendi said.
There had been some hope for the White Sox to at least avoid the historic loss, but that hope faded. Right-hander Sean Burke, making only his second big league start and third appearance, pitched very well for six innings.
The White Sox took the lead with two home runs off Yu Darvish, including one from Korey Lee, who grew up in northern San Diego County.
“Burke threw a hell of a game,” Benintendi said. “They’ve got a lot of good bats up and down that lineup, guys that have played a long time, and once they get the lead with that bullpen, it seems like it’s pretty much over at this point.
“So yes, it (stinks).”
Many of their losses have come late in games.
“Yeah, we joke about it all the time. It never seems like we get blown out, but in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, we’re facing their best pitchers every night, which is tough. It’s hard to score runs against the back ends of the bullpen,” Benintendi said.
“It seems like we have been here a lot of times, and it just hasn’t worked out.”
With one more loss in their last six games, the White Sox will hold the modern-day record outright. They will play three games at home against the Los Angeles Angels starting Tuesday night and then finish with three games at Detroit, which is competing for the AL wild-card spot.
The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the major league record for losses with a record of 20-134. Interim manager Grady Sizemore did not speak to the team afterward.
“No loss is good,” he said. “It’s not something that we’re focused on. I think everyone outside this clubhouse is more obsessed with it than us. The way we spin it is to put this one behind us and get ready for the series back home.”
When asked how his players were handling the situation, Sizemore said, “We all know the situation. We know where we are at. We have a job to do, and they are still playing for something. They have handled it like professionals, and we will be back out there on Tuesday ready to go and give it our best.”
Korey Lee added, “I think if you ask all 50 guys or so (who have been on the roster this season), we are not going to be happy about it. If you’re happy about it, I don’t know what you are doing here.
“I think it’s obviously hard, but at the same time, everyone is coming in here every day and giving their best.”
The catcher mentioned that the team has stayed united despite all the losses.
“It shows you how close we are. We talked about it earlier today. Honestly, that is what I look forward to every day when I come in here, is having the guy right next to me and knowing he is going to care for me, inside and out, on the field and off the field.
“That is all you can ask for. It’s good family around us. Obviously, there is a lot of bad, but you have to take the good out of every day. And the good is coming in here with this group of guys and doing the thing we all love to do.”
The White Sox tied the AL record of 119 losses set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers on Saturday night. They had already lost their 20th straight road series and were swept for the 24th time this season.
