MINNEAPOLIS — The woeful Chicago White Sox lost their 20th consecutive game Sunday, the majors’ longest skid in 36 years and one short of the American League record, as Chris Flexen was chased early in a 13-7 defeat against the Minnesota Twins.
Royce Lewis hit a three-run homer off Flexen in a six-run second inning that gave Minnesota an 8-0 cushion. The White Sox (27-87) rallied and cut it to 10-7 in the eighth, but couldn’t get any closer.
Chicago’s franchise-record losing streak is the longest in the big leagues since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles dropped 21 games in a row — the AL mark — to begin the season. The NL record is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 straight.
The major league low belongs to the 1889 Louisville Colonels, an American Association team that endured a 26-game slide during a 27-111 season.
Next up, the White Sox head to Oakland for a three-game series beginning Monday night against the Athletics, who are last in the AL West.