The Chicago White Sox had their latest skid extended to 11 games with a 13-3 rout at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, the 20th straight loss in which 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.
Coming off an 0-10 homestand, Chicago dropped to 31-108 and is on its third-longest skid this season after slides of 21 games from July 10 to Aug. 5 and 14 from May 22 to June 6. The White Sox would have to go 12-11 to avoid tying the post-1900 loss record set by the 1962 New York Mets, who went 40-120.
Chicago is on pace to finish 36-126, which would be the second-most defeats behind the 1899 Cleveland Spiders at 20-134. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the White Sox are 4-41 in their past 45 games, the worst record over a 45-game span since the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics.
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.
