The Chicago White Sox extended their misery on Sunday, succumbing to a dispiriting 13-7 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Twins. This loss, their 20th in a row, marks the longest active losing streak in Major League Baseball and has propelled the franchise into an unfortunate historical category.
The game started unfavorably for the White Sox, as they quickly fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. By the end of the second inning, the Twins had amassed a commanding 8-0 lead, with Royce Lewis delivering a crucial three-run home run. It was a daunting deficit from which the White Sox could not recover.
Despite the onslaught, there was a minor consolation for the beleaguered team. They managed to score more than five runs for the first time during their losing streak, but their efforts were not enough to overcome the Twins' offensive firepower. During this 20-game skid, the White Sox have been outscored 131-48, averaging a four-run deficit per game—a stark indicator of their struggles on both sides of the ball.
This 20-game losing streak places the White Sox as the seventh franchise in modern MLB history to endure such a prolonged period of futility. They join the ranks of the 1988 Baltimore Orioles and the 1969 Montreal Expos, both of whom also experienced 20-game losing streaks. The specter of the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies looms large; the White Sox are just three more losses away from tying their record of 23 consecutive defeats, the most in the modern era.
The White Sox's season record now stands at a dismal 27-87, putting them on pace for a 124-loss season. This would make them just the second team since World War II to lose more than 120 games in a season, alongside the infamous 1962 New York Mets, who set the modern era record with 120 losses. Only the 2003 Detroit Tigers and the 2018 Baltimore Orioles have crossed the 115-loss threshold in recent decades, highlighting the depths of the Sox's current predicament.
Earlier this season, the White Sox endured a 14-game losing streak from May 22 until June 6. While that streak was agonizing, it pales in comparison to the current 20-game run. The earlier streak tied for the 38th longest in MLB history, an ignoble mark that now seems almost modest in light of recent events.
As the White Sox prepare to face the Oakland Athletics on Monday, the stakes are high—not for playoff positions or championship aspirations, but simply for a victory to stem the tide of losses. The team and its fans can only hope for a change in fortune and an end to this grueling chapter.