White Sox just one loss away from 20th straight defeat: by the numbers

With Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Twins, the White Sox now have the longest losing streak in baseball since 2021, when the Orioles also dropped 19 straight. With one more defeat, the White Sox would become the seventh team in modern baseball history (since 1901) to have a losing streak reach 20.

The last team to reach 20 straight losses was the Orioles, when they began the season on a 21-game losing streak, which remains the American League record The White Sox, who have yet to win a game after the All-Star break, find themselves within reach of the modern record of 23 straight losses by the 1961 Phillies.

Here’s a sense of just how bad things have gotten for the White Sox (27-86), who remain on pace to surpass the record 120 losses by the expansion 1962 Mets.

How to save a game

White Sox 2024 win total: 27
White Sox 2024 blown saves: 28

Chicago has had 45 save opportunities this season, which is good enough for 11th-best in MLB. That said, the White Sox have only converted 17, which is the fewest among all 30 teams. That means 28 potential wins went out the window.

It’s a sprint, not a marathon

The White Sox became the fastest team to 85 losses since the 1932 Red Sox. It took Chicago 112 games to hit the 85 loss mark, which is a new MLB record, albeit a dubious one at that. Those 1932 Red Sox finished 43-111.

White Sox are the fastest team to reach the 85-loss mark in a season (112 games) since the 1932 Red Sox

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) August 3, 2024

The Monday blues spare no one

It turns out that the White Sox hate Mondays just as much as we all do. That’s because to date, Chicago has lost on 13 straight Mondays this season. It’s true. The first Monday loss was all the way back in April, a 0-9 decision to the Braves, and the most recent Monday loss was July 29, the same game that started a new franchise losing streak.

Adding insult to injury, Chicago’s May 13 game against the Nationals was postponed due to inclement weather. It was made up the next day, where, get this, the White Sox won 4-0. Except it was played on a Tuesday, so it doesn’t count.

Cease the day

Former White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease recorded a 4-2 record in July, including the Padres’ second no-hitter in franchise history. Meanwhile, Chicago won just three games the whole month.

So nice, they did it twice

The White Sox became the first team in AL history to have two separate (yes, separate) losing streaks of at least 14 games. The first such streak set a new franchise record, then Chicago subsequently rewrote history with a second streak.

Batting around

Currently, 143 players in the American League are qualified to win the batting title, meaning they have enough plate appearances to be eligible. At one point, Paul DeJong was in the top 100 of said players, but he got traded. Now, the White Sox’s only qualified bats are Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets.

(Photo of Garrett Crochet pitching on Saturday, when the White Sox dropped their 19th straight game: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)