Chicago White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon found himself in a jam during the second inning Friday against the New York Mets.
The bases were loaded thanks to two singles and a walk. There were no outs.
Cannon struck out Francisco Alvarez and then appeared to get out of trouble by inducing a 5-4-3 double play.
But in line with the way things have gone for the Sox, there was a wrinkle.
The Mets challenged the ruling, and the out call at first was reversed, which resulted in a run.
“We got the ground ball, just a step away from getting out of that inning without a run,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “It’s kind of been a theme for us, a hair short, or a step late or just a ball that doesn’t go our way.”
Cannon limited the damage to the one run, but the Mets scored three the next inning on the way to beating the Sox 5-1.
It was the 105th loss of the season for the Sox, one shy of tying the franchise record held by the 1970 club.
“It’s tough, it is,” Cannon said of the losing. “But we show up every day expecting to win. I think we have a really good clubhouse before the game. We all think we’re going to win going in. Just look to continue that mindset for the rest of the year.
“We believe in each other, which I think is big and will pay off in the long run. But yeah, it has been tough.”
The 1970 Sox finished 56-106.
How this year’s team, which entered Saturday 31-105, winds up remains to be seen. But here are three astonishing reasons behind them nearing the franchise record for defeats.
1. The Sox have won just four of their first 38 since the All-Star break.
The Sox had 71 losses at the All-Star break, the most in Major League Baseball history.
The second half didn’t begin any better.
Bobby Witt Jr. hit a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the first, putting the Sox in an early hole on July 19 at Kansas City.
Witt had three hits and two RBIs and scored twice for the Royals in a 7-1 victory against the Sox.
The Sox lost their first 17 after the All-Star break, surpassing the previous MLB mark of 0-13 by the Boston Braves in 1935, according to STATS.
That 0-17 stretch was part of the team’s American League record-tying 21-game skid, which ended with a 5-1 victory against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 6 at the Oakland Coliseum.
The Sox are 4-34 (.105) in the second half, which would be the lowest winning percentage in MLB history. At the current rate, the Sox are ahead of the 1943 Philadelphia A’s (15-61, .197), 1935 Boston Braves (17-63, .213) and 1949 Washington Senators (17-62, .215).
They also lost seven of eight heading into the break, so they entered Saturday with 41 losses in their last 46 games.
2. Home or road hasn’t made much of a difference.
Garrett Crochet felt that he didn’t have his best stuff.
But he was still sharp enough to keep the Washington Nationals from scoring through his five innings on May 15 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Relievers Jared Shuster, Jordan Leasure and Michael Kopech picked up from there, combining for four hitless innings. The Sox allowed just three hits in 2-0 victory, their second straight shutout.
The Sox were 10-14 in home games at that point. They’ve gone 8-38 at Guaranteed Rate Field since, including a club-record 12-game skid from July 10-Aug. 10.
The Sox are 18-52 (.257) at Guaranteed Rate Field this season, which would be the second-lowest home win percentage in MLB history behind the 1939 St. Louis Browns (18-59, .234) and just ahead of the 1911 Boston Rustlers (19-54, .260).
The road has been every bit as bumpy for the Sox. They are 12-53 (.185) away from Guaranteed Rate Field.
The .185 road winning percentage would be the fourth-lowest in AL history behind the 1935 Boston Braves (13-65, .167), 1916 Philadelphia A’s (13-64, .169) and 1945 A’s (13-63, .171).
They’ll spend a large chunk of the final month of the season on the road (15 of 25), including the final three of the year Sept. 27-29 at Detroit.
3. Holding leads has been an issue.
The Sox were six outs from beginning a four-game series at Seattle on a good note.
They led the Mariners by four runs entering the bottom of the eighth on June 10 at T-Mobile Park. But momentum quickly shifted in the other direction, with the Mariners rallied with four runs in the inning — including three with two outs — to tie the score.
Cal Raleigh hit a walk-off grand slam against Leasure in the ninth, handing the Sox a stunning 8-4 loss.
The Sox lead the majors with 31 blown saves. Friday marked the 51st time this season the Sox have lost after leading. It was also their 41st time losing after scoring first, the most in the majors.
The Sox have lost 21 times while leading after the sixth, which also leads the majors.
While the losses have accumulated, Sizemore said there still is plenty to play for. He pointed out that the Sox are in a stretch of facing playoff contenders in the Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians.
“This is a challenge for us to go out there and compete with some of the better teams in the league that are fighting for a spot and we get to fight back,” he said Friday. “We get to hit back and we get to try to wreck their path to the playoffs.
“That’s the challenge that we’re going to take on and we’re going to go out there and try to compete with these playoff teams and not just be an easy win.”
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