SAN DIEGO – The Chicago White Sox had a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday, and then history struck.
That tenuous lead disappeared in the span of four San Diego Padres batters and the White Sox went on to their 120th loss, tying the post-1900 record set by the 1962 expansion New York Mets.
The dichotomy couldn’t have been greater.
The White Sox headed to a somber clubhouse and quietly packed for their flight home.
The Padres, who are closing in on a postseason berth, gathered in front of their dugout to applaud the sellout crowd of 45,197 that roared through the bottom of the eighth and then the top of the ninth of the 4-2 win in the regular-season home finale on the brilliant first day of autumn. Some fans even chanted “Beat L.A.!” in anticipation of a huge series starting Tuesday night at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“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,” veteran Andrew Benintendi said.
There had been hope for the White Sox to at least delay the historic loss, until there wasn’t. Right-hander Sean Burke, making just his second big league start — and third appearance — was outstanding through six innings. The White Sox took their lead on two home runs off Yu Darvish, including one by Korey Lee, who grew up in northern San Diego County.
“Burke threw a hell of a game,” Benintendi said. “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 its pretty much over at this point.
“So yes, it (stinks).”
So many of their losses have come late in games.
“Yeah we joke about it all the time. It never seems like we get blown out and the seventh, eighth, and ninth come around and we’re facing their seven-eight-nine-inning guys every night, which is big. It’s hard to score runs off the back ends of the bullpen,” Benintendi said.
“It seems like we have been here a lot of times and it just hasn’t panned out.”
With one more loss in their final six games, the White Sox will hold the modern-day record outright. They finish with three at home against the Los Angeles Angels beginning Tuesday night and finish with three at Detroit, which is in the AL wild-card hunt.
The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the major league record for losses at 20-134.
Interim manager Grady Sizemore didn’t address the team afterward.
“No loss is good,” he said. “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 is to put this one behind us and get ready for the series back home.”
Asked how his players were digesting it, Sizemore said: “We all know the situation. We know where we are at. We have a job to do and they are still playing for something. They have handled it like professionals and we will be back out there on Tuesday ready to go and give it our best.”
Said Lee: “I think if you ask all 50 guys or so (who have been on the roster this season) we are not going to be happy about it. If you’re happy about it, I don’t know what you are doing here.
“I think it’s obviously hard but at the same time everyone is coming in here every day and giving their best.”
The catcher said the team has stayed together through all the losing.
“It shows you how close we are. We talked about it earlier today. Honestly, that is what I look forward to every day when I come in here is having the guy right next to me and knowing he is going to care for me, inside and out, on the field and off the field.
“That is all you can ask for. It’s good family around us. Obviously there is a lot of bad but you have to take the good out of every day. And the good is coming in here with this group of guys and doing the thing we all love to do.”
The White Sox had tied the AL record of 119 losses by the 2003 Detroit Tigers on Saturday night. They had already lost their 20th straight road series and were swept for the 24th time this season.
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