MINNEAPOLIS – Without a win in almost a month, the Chicago White Sox are making the worst kind of history.
The woeful White Sox lost their 20th consecutive game on Sunday, the league’s longest skid in 36 years and one shy of the American League record, when Chris Flexen was chased early in a 13-7 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
“Running out of words for this,” Flexen said.
Royce Lewis hit a three-run homer off Flexen in a six-run second inning that gave Minnesota an 8-0 lead. The White Sox (27-87) rallied to pull within 10-7 in the eighth, but could get no closer.
“At the end of the day, we lost 20 games in a row. This is painful. This is terrible”, said coach Pedro Grifol. “We just have to find a way to put this behind us and go out there and be professional and do what we have to do tomorrow.”
The Chicago franchise’s record losing streak is the longest in the big leagues since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles lost 21 consecutive games — the AL mark — to start the season. The NL record since 1900 is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 consecutive games.
The major league low belongs to the 1889 Louisville Colonels, an American Association team that suffered a 26-game slump during a 27-111 season.
Next, the White Sox head to Oakland for a three-game series starting Monday night against the Athletics, who are in last place in the AL West.
“It’s very difficult,” Chicago center fielder Luis Robert Jr. said through a translator. “There’s nothing else we can do but just try to come here every day like we’ve been doing and try to win games.”
Chicago’s losing streak is tied with four other clubs for third longest since 1900: the 1969 Montreal Expos; the Philadelphia Athletics of 1943 and 1916; and the Boston Americans of 1906.
The latest loss left the White Sox 60 games under .500 for the first time in franchise history. They are on pace to finish 38-124, which would be the most losses since the 1899 National League Cleveland Spiders went 20-134.
Chicago last won on July 10 against Minnesota 3-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.
The White Sox were outscored 131-48 during the losing streak. His seven runs and 12 hits on Sunday were the most in a game during the skid.
Flexen (2-11) failed to make it out of the second round. The right-hander allowed eight runs – six earned – and seven hits. He also walked three batters.
Minnesota took advantage of a two-out error by second baseman Brooks Baldwin to score twice in the first. Cole Sands (5-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief to earn the win.
“We don’t take two steps back and look at the bigger picture or how teams are playing. It doesn’t really change what we do,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Whether the teams are playing very well or not doesn’t matter.”
Minnesota starter Simeon Woods Richardson went four innings, allowing three runs in his first start since a disaster against the Mets. He took an 8-0 lead before allowing two runs in the third and another in the fourth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
With the Twins leading 8–3, Manny Margot hit Twins center fielder Byron Buxton in the bottom of the sixth after Buxton hit the wall to make an inning-ending catch. Buxton was slow to get up after the catch, but ran off the field and looked fine. The Twins said Buxton was removed for precautionary reasons and medically cleared.
NEXT
White Sox: Had not announced a starting pitcher for Monday’s series opener in Oakland.
Twins: RHP David Festa (1-2, 6.98 ERA) makes his fourth career start Monday when Minnesota opens a three-game series in Chicago against the Cubs.
