The lowly Chicago White Sox, who are on pace for one of the worst seasons in Major League Baseball history, have put themselves in the record books for futility.
After Monday’s 13-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the White Sox current losing streak hit 11 games.
But it was also the 20th straight loss in which White Sox starting pitcher Chris Flexen started to set baseball’s modern-era (since 1900) record for most consecutive losses in a pitcher’s starts that had been shared with the Washington Nationals’ Bob Groom.
According to an ESPN report, Flexen (2-14) allowed three runs and seven hits in 3⅓ innings and is 0-11 with a 5.73 ERA in 21 appearances (20 starts) since winning May 8 at Tampa Bay.
He moved out of a tie with the Washington Nationals’ Bob Groom to take sole possession of the longest losing streak in a single pitcher’s starts since 1900, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Nationals lost 19 straight games started by Groom in 1909. Flexen is also two such losses ahead of the Brewers’ Chris Capuano, who was 0-13 with a 6.12 ERA for Milwaukee in 23 appearances (18 starts) from May 13, 2007, through June 3, 2010, missing 2008 and ’09 following Tommy John surgery.
“Every time I take the ball, I expect myself to go out and be competitive, have strong outings,” Flexen said. “I don’t think a lot of them have been all that great, a couple of quality starts in there; but overall, my performance has been very disappointing on my end.”
Per ESPN Stats & Information, the White Sox are on pace to finish 36-126, which would be the second-most defeats behind the 1899 Cleveland Spiders at 20-134, and they are 4-41 in their past 45 games, the worst record over a 45-game span since the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics.