The woeful Chicago White Sox lost their 20th consecutive game Sunday, the majors' longest skid in 36 years and one short of the American League record, as Chris Flexen was chased early in a 13-7 defeat against the Minnesota Twins.
Royce Lewis hit a three-run homer off Flexen in a six-run second inning that gave Minnesota an 8-0 cushion. The White Sox (27-87) rallied and cut it to 10-7 in the eighth but couldn't get any closer.
“Running out of words for it,” Flexen said.
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Chicago's franchise-record losing streak is the longest in the big leagues since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles dropped 21 games in a row -- the AL mark -- to begin the season. The NL record is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 straight.
The major league-low belongs to the 1889 Louisville Colonels, an American Association team that endured a 26-game slide during a 27-111 season.
“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.”
Chicago's losing streak is tied with four other clubs for the third-longest since 1900. The latest defeat dropped the White Sox 60 games below .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 Cleveland Spiders of the National League went 20-134.
White Sox News
“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.”
Chicago last won on July 10 against Minnesota, 3-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.
The White Sox have been outscored 131-48 during the losing streak. Their seven runs and 12 hits Sunday were both their most in a game during the skid.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol remains under fire as the team’s losing streak nears record territory, and his future was among the topics discussed in a private meeting prior to the club’s current series against the Minnesota Twins.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Grifol met with owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Chris Getz following Wednesday’s loss to the Kansas City Royals for a “lengthy private meeting,” during which is future was discussed.
The team “ultimately decided not to fire him,” but Nightengale reports that the team could still do so before the end of the season.
Grifol has now managed 275 games for the White Sox, with a record of 88-187 in those contests. His career .320 winning percentage is the worst in White Sox history for any full-time manager.
GAME RECAP
Flexen (2-11) didn’t make it out of the second inning. 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 big-picture stuff, or how teams are playing. It really doesn’t change what we do,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Whether teams are playing really well, or not well, it doesn’t matter.”
Minnesota starter Simeon Woods Richardson went four innings, allowing three runs in his first start since a clunker against the Mets. He was handed 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 pinch-hit for Twins center fielder Byron Buxton in the bottom of the sixth after Buxton ran into the wall to make an inning-ending catch. Buxton was slow to get up after the grab but jogged off the field and appeared OK. The Twins said Buxton was removed for precautionary reasons and has been medically cleared.
UP NEXT
White Sox: The White Sox head to Oakland for a three-game series beginning Monday night against the Athletics, who are last in the AL West. They have not announced a starting pitcher for Monday’s series opener.
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.