The Kansas City Royals beat the White Sox, 4-3 on Tuesday, sending Chicago to a franchise-record 16th straight loss.
The White Sox scored first for a 1-0 first-inning lead and carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth. But reliever Fraser Ellard walked two and threw a wild pitch to leave runners on the corners with one out for reliever Justin Anderson.
Anderson then allowed consecutive hits to Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino that plated three runs to give the Royals a 4-2 lead.
#Royals took the lead tonight on this two-run single from Vinnie Pasquantino.
Great AB w/ two strikes. Great send from 3B coach Vance Wilson to get speedy Bobby Witt Jr. home. And a great breakdown from Pasquantino, who was thrown advancing to 2B, which I’ll share next. pic.twitter.com/cs1x30NPXX
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) July 31, 2024
The White Sox answered with a run in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn’t enough. Kansas City held on for the win, and an already miserable White Sox season found new depths in the franchise record book.
Chicago’s losing streak, by the numbers
The previous longest White Sox losing streak stood at 15 games and straddled the 1967 and 1968 seasons. They lost the last five games of 1967 then got off to an 0-10 start in 1968.
The 2024 White Sox have now lost 16 straight in a single season for a new franchise-low. The franchise’s previous single-season longest losing streak was 14. That was courtesy of this same team. It set that mark on June 7 of this year.
The White Sox have been in existence as an MLB team since 1901.
The White Sox have been swept by the Pirates, Rangers, Royals and Mariners during the losing streak. Another loss to the 59-49 Royals on Wednesday would mark a second sweep by Kansas City during the streak. Tuesday’s loss marked an 0-12 record for the White Sox since they returned from the All-Star break.
The loss dropped Chicago to 27-83 (.245), by far the worst record in baseball. No other AL team has fewer than 45 wins (45-64 Oakland A’s). The 38-70 Colorado Rockies (.352) are the next-worst team in all of baseball.
Up next after the conclusion of the Royals series is a three-game series with the playoff-contending Minnesota Twins. After that, a three-game series with the A’s is Chicago’s best bet at relief.