The Chicago White Sox tied the post-1900 MLB record of 120 losses held by the 1962 expansion New York Mets on Sunday, as the San Diego Padres rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to win 4-2, capped off by Fernando Tatis Jr.’s towering home run.
The White Sox, now at 36-120, briefly held a 2-1 lead thanks to home runs by Korey Lee and Miguel Vargas off Padres’ pitcher Yu Darvish, but that lead evaporated quickly in the eighth inning.
This defeat came merely a day after the White Sox matched the American League record of 119 losses, set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders still hold the all-time major league record for losses at 20-134.
Interim manager Grady Sizemore refrained from addressing the team following the loss. “No loss is good,” Sizemore stated. “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.”
With one more loss in their final six games, the White Sox will hold the modern-day record outright. They face the Los Angeles Angels for three games at home starting Tuesday night before finishing with three games at Detroit, a team in the AL wild-card hunt.
“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,” said veteran Andrew Benintendi.
On the other hand, the Padres clinched their first 90-win season since 2010 with this victory, boasting a 90-66 record. This win puts their magic number at one for clinching their third postseason berth since 2020.
The Padres are in control of their own destiny as they head into a three-game series against the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers starting Tuesday night. While the Dodgers currently lead by three games, the Padres own the tiebreaker. Additionally, San Diego maintains a three-game lead over Arizona for the NL’s top wild card. The Padres finish their season with a three-game series in Arizona next weekend.
Some in the sellout crowd of 45,197 began chanting “Beat L.A.!” as the Padres players and staff saluted the fans after the final home regular-season game. San Diego set the franchise attendance record with 3,314,593 fans in 80 games.
“We’re never out, and that’s probably since the first week that we played baseball this year,” Tatis said. “What we have been doing over here is really special. We have the talent to go all the way. But it’s time to take care of business one day at a time.”
The Padres tied it at 2 when Donovan Solano and pinch-hitter Luis Arraez hit consecutive doubles to open the eighth inning against White Sox pitcher Fraser Ellard, bringing in the go-ahead run on Jurickson Profar’s sacrifice fly. Tatis then hit a towering home run into the left-field stands for his 20th homer of the season.
“It felt amazing,” Tatis said. “It felt like I showed it that way after I hit it,” he added, describing his exuberant trot that included a stutter-step into third base.
White Sox rookie Sean Burke showcased a stellar performance, allowing only one run and two hits in six innings during just his third big league appearance and second start. Burke struck out eight and walked one.
“Burke threw a hell of a game,” Benintendi noted. “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.”
Korey Lee, who grew up in northern San Diego County, hit a line shot homer to left with one out in the third inning, marking his 11th home run of the season. Profar tied it with an opposite-field home run to left in the bottom of the inning, his 24th and a career-best.
The White Sox regained the lead through Miguel Vargas’ home run to left-center in the sixth inning, his fifth of the season. Yu Darvish became the first Japanese-born player to reach 2,000 career strikeouts when he fanned Jacob Amaya in the third inning. Darvish recorded nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings on Sunday, pushing his 12-season MLB total to 2003 strikeouts. He allowed two runs and three hits while walking nine.
Robert Suarez, who had been struggling lately, successfully closed the game in the ninth for his 34th save.
Up next, the White Sox will have RHP Jonathan Cannon (4-10, 4.61 ERA) start the three-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels, who will be starting RHP Jack Kochanowicz (2-5, 4.56 ERA). For the Padres, RHP Michael King (12-9, 3.04 ERA) is set to start the opener of their three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
