White Sox watch: History awaits as Chicago collects 119th loss

The 1962 New York Mets lost 120 games, setting the record for the most defeats in a single season in modern baseball history. The 2024 Chicago White Sox are on pace to supplant the Mets as the worst team ever. As the season winds down, we’ll track their efforts to avoid infamy.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A walk. Single. A hit-by-pitch, and, then, another walk. All of a sudden a ray of light appeared in what had long been ticketed for another listless loss.

Down two, with the bases loaded and one out, the White Sox had a chance to, at the very least, delay the inevitable. A packed Petco Park was on its edge as the Padres were forced deeper into their pen.

This was it, they had San Diego on the ropes.

Two pitches later, Dominic Fletcher grounded into a double play. An inning later, the White Sox lost, 6-2. It clinched their 119th loss of the season, matching the 2003 Tigers for the second-most in the modern era.

The White Sox are now on the doorstep of infamy. Anything short of winning all seven games on their schedule won’t be good enough. One more loss, and this team will tie the 1962 expansion Mets for the most losses in modern history.

It’s a fact they’re resigned to. Manager Grady Sizemore said pregame that their focus is on the growth of young players in response to a question about the impending record.

There’s almost certainly no rah-rah rally to be had. No push for a miracle. Just rally-killing double plays and a recognition of the inevitable. — Sam Blum

Current pace: 124 losses

Games remaining: 7

Wins needed to avoid equaling the ’62 Mets: 7

Next game: Sunday at Padres. RHP Sean Burke 1-0, 2.25 ERA (White Sox) vs. RHP Yu Darvish 6-3, 3.21 ERA (Padres)

Sept. 19: Chicago drops to 0-100 when trailing after 8 innings

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Round numbers in baseball are nice. Garrett Crochet hitting 200 strikeouts on Friday, that was nice. Shohei Ohtani reaching 50-50 the day before was lovely too.

The White Sox dropping to 0-100 when trailing after eight innings? Not so great. And even more painful when they were oh-so-close to improving to 1-99.

Chicago lost 3-2 in 10 innings to the Padres, a result made possible by a two-out, two-strike Lenyn Sosa home run in the ninth inning.

But the White Sox are nothing if not inevitable. They got four excellent innings from Crochet. But their offense couldn’t back it up. And now, this team finds itself another step closer to a seemingly unavoidable destination.

“Yeah,” Crochet said of the crushing loss. “That’s baseball.”

Usually this time of year, teams like this are playing out a string of games that will quickly be forgotten in the annals of history. But not this team. Each defeat adds to a total that will inevitably go down in history.

This loss, the 118th of the season, surpasses the 1916 Philadelphia A’s for the third-most in the modern era. And it leaves the White Sox one defeat short of the 2003 Tigers, who went on a desperate, final-week, 5-of-6 win rampage to avoid tying the 1962 Mets’ record themselves.

These White Sox will need to do even better. They are essentially in must-win territory. A tall task for a team that hasn’t won much.

The silver lining for the fans? At least there’s a good chance they’ll break the record in their home ballpark. — Sam Blum

Sept. 18: Despite bullpen’s best efforts, Chicago loses in extra innings

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mercifully, the Los Angeles Angels and Chicago White Sox series has come to a close. After 13 innings of back-and-forth ball, the White Sox have inched closer to infamy with a 4-3 loss.

It felt like a game that nobody wanted to win. A matchup between the two worst teams in the American League. And it just went on and on and on until Angels outfielder Jordyn Adams grounded an infield single to third, sending the White Sox to their 117th defeat.

It was a bullpen game, and Chicago used eight pitchers. All in all, they weren’t bad. Only Justin Anderson allowed an earned run, and as a group, they collected 14 punchouts. Jairo Iriarte, who had entered the game with just 2 2/3 innings under his belt, gave up the game-ending single.

There was one classic 2024 White Sox moment, however, don’t you worry. Angels outfielder Mickey Moniak cannot swing the bat due to injury. But because of the roster machinations in an elongated game, he was forced to take an at-bat. Enyel De Los Santos walked him on four pitches.

This team is three games shy of tying the 1962 Mets for the most losses in a season. And four away from owning it. That means Chicago could break the record at home against these same Angels after facing the playoff-hopeful Padres for three in San Diego.

With nine games left to play, the record feels as inevitable as it has all year. — Sam Blum

Sept. 17: Push for loss record renewed as 3-game streak snapped

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? The 72-hour fever dream has awoken to a familiar reality. Another Chicago White Sox loss. Another listless offensive performance in a 5-0 game that never felt competitive.

The three-game winning streak presented an opening to somehow avoid history. Five more games against the very bad Los Angeles Angels gave that opening some legitimacy. But Tuesday’s defeat was another reminder that Chicago’s futility has no company. The 61-90 Angels are still 25 1/2 games better.

The White Sox were unable to win a fourth straight game for the second time this year. Chicago mustered just six hits, all singles. Starting pitcher Davis Martin allowed just three runs over five innings. It was a game devoid of drama, as to be expected in a battle between the worst the American League has to offer.

The White Sox must go 6-4 to avoid the 121-loss modern-day record. They face the Angels four more times and have three apiece against the San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers on the road.

This team has been eliminated from postseason contention for more than a month. But don’t say there isn’t any late-September drama. — Sam Blum

Sept. 16: History on hold? Winning streak reaches 3 games

You need to rewind 30 years, back to the year when the film “Major League II” came out, to truly contextualize what the Chicago White Sox have done.

“OK, we won a game yesterday,” Lou Brown, the fictional Cleveland Indians manager, told his team in the film. “If we win today, it’s called ‘two in a row’. And if we win again tomorrow, it’s called a ‘winning streak.’ … It has happened before!”

And now, it is happening again. These pesky Chicago White Sox are officially on a winning streak. In a season full of historic losing, a glimmer of hope has emerged in the form of an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

No, the competition wasn’t exactly stiff. (The Angels fell to 60-90). But in a season like this, you’ll take the wins wherever you can get them. The White Sox hadn’t won three in a row since late June.

Andrew Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn hit back-to-back homers in the first inning. Vaughn added a triple an inning later, and in the seventh Benintendi blasted his second homer of the game. Lenyn Sosa added a homer of his own. The first two wins in this streak were one-run squeakers. This was a beat-down.

The White Sox need to go 6-5 to avoid setting the all-time loss record, or 7-4 to steer clear of the 1962 Mets altogether.

Not an easy task. But, at least the White Sox get five more chances this season against the Angels, the cellar dwellers of the AL West. — Sam Blum

Sept. 15: Where has this team been all season?

The White Sox might not have lit the world on fire the last two days against the Oakland Athletics. But darn it, they looked like a competent ball club.

Chicago’s starting pitchers allowed just two runs over their last 10 innings. They clubbed four homers and 24 hits. And, on Sunday, the bullpen locked it down. All in an effort to get back to 80 games below .500 on the season with its 4-3 win at home on Sunday.

The prospect of avoiding the record-setting 121 losses remains unlikely. Chicago would need to go 7-5, not exactly the expectation for a team that’s won only 23 percent of its games this year.

With that said, six games remaining against the Los Angeles Angels (60-88) presents an opening, however small it might be.

The consecutive victories mark the first winning streak since June 28-29 against the NL-worst Colorado Rockies. And after going more than a month without a home win, they notched two in 24 hours.

Starting pitcher Sean Burke allowed two runs over five innings. Five-hole hitter Gavin Sheets homered for the second consecutive day. Bryan Ramos added some much-needed insurance with a home run of his own. Chicago’s bullpen combined for four innings, allowing just two baserunners.

The White Sox looked like a perfectly fine baseball team this weekend. With 12 games left, and six losses shy of the record, will perfectly fine be enough to avoid history? — Sam Blum

Sept. 14: A rare walk-off win puts the brakes on history for now

Chicago’s seemingly inevitable march toward the all-time loss record took a break on Saturday. Instead, it was a hit parade on the Southside, with the 16th and final knock coming on an Andrew Benintendi walk-off homer in a 7-6 victory.

Chicago’s bullpen blew two separate three-run leads, including one in the ninth inning. But the offense made their struggles moot. It was their first home win since Aug. 12.

This beleaguered bunch will still need to win nine of its final 13 games to avoid equaling the 1962 Mets’ 120-loss mark. And eight wins to avoid setting the record itself.

Another game against the Athletics, and six chances against lowly Angels present an opening for the White Sox to make a last-minute miracle push to avoid infamy. Don’t forget, the 2003 Detroit Tigers won five of six to end their season and finish with only 119 losses. Perhaps the record books provide the most motivation.

The White Sox won their second consecutive game that Chris Flexen pitched. That’s significant mostly because they’d lost his previous 20 games started. He navigated through traffic over five scoreless innings.

Chicago posted seven singles in the first two innings off Oakland starter J.T. Ginn. Gavin Sheets added a solo home run.

It looked like this game would follow a familiar pattern. The A’s immediately scored three off reliever Chad Kuhl. But Enyel De Los Santos stabilized the effort, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Justin Anderson blew another three-run lead in the ninth.

But Benintendi was clutch all day. He posted two tie-breaking hits, including the game-winner.

In any down season, a losing team at least hopes it sees growth in certain areas. When you’re 81 games below .500, however, sustained growth is inherently elusive.

Saturday might not have represented growth. But at least their home fans got to celebrate a win, finally. — Sam Blum

Current pace: 125 losses

Games remaining: 13

Wins needed to avoid equaling the ’62 Mets: 9

Next game: Sunday vs. Oakland. LHP JP Sears 11-10, 4.18 ERA (A’s) vs. RHP Sean Burke 0-0, 0.00 ERA (White Sox)

Sept. 13: Shutout loss puts Chicago within six losses of MLB record

The roles were supposed to be reversed. If you asked any casual baseball fan at the beginning of the year which team would enter this mid-September series — Oakland A’s versus Chicago White Sox — looking to avoid the loss record, the answer would have been Oakland.

Preseason expectations weren’t high for the White Sox, to be sure. Just ask their GM. But it was Oakland coming off a 110-loss season, amid a chaotic off-field storm.

Instead, it’s Oakland building an exciting young core. And the White Sox are counting down the days until the season ends. Their relevance is tied directly to their futility. A 33-115 record leaves their club six losses shy of solo ownership of the record.

This 2-0 defeat wasn’t a blowout. Zack Gelof doubled home a run in the fourth. Brent Rooker gave the A’s some insurance an inning later with a two-out single. Chicago’s pitching held up, but its offense couldn’t scratch out a run.

Out of context, it was just a regular game — unlike many mammoth blowouts that populate their schedule.

In context, however, it added to their unwelcome history.

The White Sox lost their 16th consecutive home game, spanning more than a month. They dropped to 5-26 in the Grady Sizemore era. They tied the 2018 Baltimore Orioles and the 1935 Boston Braves for the fourth-most losses since the creation of the American League in 1901.

In an alternate universe, it’s the A’s desperately trying to avoid infamy. In this world, however, it’s the White Sox who are seemingly resigned to it. — Sam Blum

Sept. 11: Rally falls short in 15th consecutive home loss

The White Sox have gone an entire month without a home win.

Way back when, somewhere around the Mesozoic Era (OK, it was Aug. 12), Chicago bludgeoned the New York Yankees, 12-2. Since then, it’s been one loss after another, one step closer to history every time the White Sox take the field. The latest edition included a pair of two-run infield singles by Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas in a 6-4 defeat on Wednesday afternoon that sealed Cleveland’s three-game sweep.

An error and a balk helped fuel a four-run White Sox outburst, but like the previous two games of the series, they never grabbed hold of a lead. They have lost 15 consecutive games at Guaranteed Rate Field, and 27 of 28.

The White Sox now sit at 33-114. Since their inception as a charter member of the American League in 1901, only five teams have recorded more losses in a season: the 2018 Baltimore Orioles (115), the 1935 Boston Braves (115), the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (117), the 2003 Detroit Tigers (119) and the 1962 New York Mets (120).

With the first-place Guardians reluctantly leaving town, the White Sox will welcome the Oakland Athletics to the South Side for a three-game series this weekend. Chicago dropped two of three in Oakland in early August. — Zack Meisel

Sept. 10: Loss No. 113 comes in 17th shutout of season

CHICAGO — Before Tuesday’s game, a White Sox executive jokingly asked two reporters to try using “record-setting” before the team name instead of a less-flattering description. Well, the record-setting White Sox did it again Tuesday, setting a new record for consecutive home losses with 14. Of course, they broke the record they set Monday night.

Their 5-0 loss to Cleveland was also their 26th defeat in their last 27 home games.

It’s starting to become a trend.

Led by Lane Thomas’ three-run homer off Sox reliever Gus Varland in the sixth, Cleveland sent the White Sox to their 113th loss, home or away, of the season. This was the 17th time this season they’ve been shut out. They are eight losses away from surpassing the modern-day loss record of the 1962 Mets, and the only drama now is whether they can win three games between now and Sept. 24 so they can set the record in their final home series.

The Sox are 18-56 at home and their last victory at Guaranteed Rate Field was an improbable 12-2 clobbering of the New York Yankees on Aug. 12. Their previous home victory was against the Twins in the first game of a doubleheader on July 10. The Sox responded with 21 straight losses, tying the American League record.

Before the game, the Sox called up right-hander Sean Burke, who made his major-league debut. He struck out three in two scoreless innings before the Guardians got an unearned run off him in the ninth. The error was his own, coming off an off-target pickoff throw.

Burke, a third-round draft pick in 2021, was supposed to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, but instead is the 62nd player the White Sox have used this season, extending a club record. — Jon Greenberg

Sept. 9: Loss No. 112 comes as Guardians pitcher flirts with perfection

CHICAGO — The White Sox, who have scored 104 fewer runs than any other team, have proven to be an elixir for any struggling pitcher. That now includes Cleveland Guardians rookie Joey Cantillo, who retired the first 20 Chicago hitters he faced Monday and dealt the White Sox their 112th defeat.

Cantillo registered an 8.47 ERA in his first four spot starts, but in Cleveland’s 5-3 victory, he struck out 10 and kept the White Sox off the bases until Andrew Benintendi’s two-out single to right in the seventh.

Strangely, the White Sox have notched more wins against the first-place Guardians (five) than against any other opponent this season. Their loss Monday, however, marked their 13th in a row at home and 25th in their last 26 games at Guaranteed Rate Field. They sit only eight losses from tying the 1962 Mets’ dubious mark. They sit 40 1/2 games out of fourth place in the five-team American League Central. — Zack Meisel

(Photo of Dominic Fletcher attempting to catch a double hit by Fernando Tatis Jr. in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game: Denis Poroy / Getty Images)



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