The Chicago White Sox tied the post-1900 MLB record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets on Sunday when the host San Diego Padres won 4-2 by rallying for three runs in the eighth inning, capped by Fernando Tatis Jr.’s towering home run.
The White Sox (36-120) had taken a 2-1 lead on home runs by Korey Lee and Miguel Vargas off Yu Darvish, but that lead quickly disappeared in the eighth.
This defeat came a day after the White Sox tied the American League record of 119 losses set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers.
The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the major league record for losses at 20-134.
The Padres (90-66) clinched their first 90-win season since 2010, when they finished 90-72 but missed the post-season thanks to a brutal September collapse.
The Padres reduced their magic number to one for clinching their third post-season berth since 2020.
The Padres tied it at two when Donovan Solano and pinch-hitter Luis Arraez hit consecutive doubles opening the eighth against Fraser Ellard (2-3). Arraez advanced on a wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on Jurickson Profar’s sacrifice fly.
Tatis then drove a towering shot into the left field stands, his 20th homer of the season.
White Sox rookie Sean Burke held the Padres to one run and two hits in six innings in just his third big league appearance and second start. He struck out eight and walked one.
Lee, who grew up in northern San Diego County, hit a line shot homer to left with one out in the third, his 11th.
Jurickson Profar tied it when he hit an opposite-field shot to left with one out in the bottom of the inning. It was his 24th, extending his career-best.
The White Sox jumped back ahead on Vargas’s homer to left-centre with one out in the sixth, his fifth.
The earliest the Padres can clinch a playoff spot is Tuesday night, when they open a big three-game series at the NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres entered Sunday trailing the Dodgers by three games.
Darvish became the first Japanese-born player to reach 2,000 career strikeouts when he fanned Jacob Amaya in the third. With nine strikeouts in six 1/3 innings on Sunday, he pushed his 12-season MLB total to (2003). He walked nine while allowing two runs and three hits.
