The Chicago White Sox jumped to a two-run lead as they attempted to sweep a July 10 doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.
But the Twins tied it with back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning against rookie starter Drew Thorpe and took the lead the next inning against reliever Michael Soroka.
The Twins held on for a 3-2 win. That was the start of another history-making losing streak for the Sox.
They dropped their 12th straight Friday, with Thorpe allowing eight runs in two-thirds of an inning — including three consecutive home runs — in a 10-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
This is the first time in franchise history the Sox have had multiple double-digit losing streaks in the same year. They set a single-season franchise record with a 14-game skid from May 22-June 6.
Here’s how the two slides compare.
Run differential
The Sox were outscored 97-45 (minus-42) during the 14-game losing streak. This time they have been outscored 68-38 (minus-30) in the 12 games.
The Sox scored three runs or fewer in eight straight games and 11 of 12 entering Saturday.
“All we can do is continue to put the work in, continue to look at video, dissect what they’re doing,” manager Pedro Grifol said before Friday’s game. “Continue to look at where they’re being pitched at, their strengths and weaknesses. Put it all together and then they’ve got to go out and execute.
“The work is being done. It’s just a matter of we hit a stretch there that wasn’t good, we faced some good pitching, we made a few adjustments. But at the same time, these guys are putting in the work, they’re battling, they’re trying.”
The recent series against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field included games in which the Sox struck out 17 times in Monday’s 10-inning loss and 13 times in Wednesday’s 10-2 defeat.
“No. 1, we faced pretty good pitching,” Grifol said Thursday in Arlington, Texas. “(Nathan) Eovaldi was pretty nasty (10 strikeouts Wednesday). He had a fastball-split combo that’s coming out of the same arm slot, arm speed. He was pretty nasty.
“But at the same time we have to put a big-time emphasis on putting the ball in play on two-strike approach, regardless of if you get down 0-2, 1-2 we have to find a way to put the ball in play. We talk about it every single day. We have notes on it. (Hitting coach) Marcus (Thames) and (assistant hitting coach) Mike (Tosar) are relentless with this stuff. We talk about urgency, urgency in at-bats and all this stuff. We’re going through it every single day. We just have to go out there and execute.”
They were shut out for the 13th time this season Friday.
Biggest blowouts
The Sox set the franchise record with a thud, losing 14-2 against the Boston Red Sox on June 6 at Guaranteed Rate Field. They surrendered 24 hits in that game, including three home runs.
The Sox returned home Friday after an 0-7 trip and saw the Mariners display some power. The visitors hit four home runs, including three straight in the eight-run first inning.
“I just made some bad pitches, some bad locations, fell behind quite a bit,” Thorpe said after Friday’s short outing. “Just couldn’t get it done.”
Tight defeats
The Sox were walked-off twice in the span of four games during the 14-game slide.
In the 10th inning on June 1, Willy Adames hit a grounder with the infield in, and shortstop Zach Remillard made a diving attempt to corral the ball. Instead, it bounced off his glove for an infield hit. William Contreras scored on the play as the Sox lost 4-3.
In the ninth inning on June 5, Mike Tauchman hit a walk-off home run to give the Cubs a 7-6 victory at Wrigley Field.
The second streak included the heartbreaker Monday. The Sox took the lead in the ninth on a Paul DeJong solo shot. But the Rangers tied it with a two-out RBI single from Jonah Heim in the ninth and won it an inning later on Wyatt Langford’s walk-off single.
Close defeat or blowout, Grifol wants the Sox to keep looking ahead.
“This is 162 games, you’re going to lose some close ones and unfortunately you’re going to have games that get away from you early like (Friday’s 10-0 loss),” Grifol said after the 12th straight setback. “Put this behind you, get back after it tomorrow and get to work. That’s all we can do right now. We can’t go back on today. That’s over.
“The only thing we can go back on is if we see mistakes during the game, make sure we fix them for tomorrow. As far as trying to live in that mental state of today, that doesn’t do anybody any good. We’ve got to come back tomorrow and get ready to play.”
