White Sox fall to Mets, set franchise record with 107th loss
CHICAGO -- Sean Manaea pitched two-hit ball over seven innings, Francisco Lindor belted his 29th home run and the New York Mets defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Sunday, handing them their franchise-record 107th loss.
Chicago (31-107) broke the club mark for losses set by the 1970 team. The White Sox also completed the first 0-10 homestand in franchise history, becoming the first team since the 1965 Mets to have three 10-game losing streaks in one season.
Lindor gave New York a 1-0 lead when he connected leading off the fourth against Garrett Crochet. Starling Marte drove an RBI double off the center-field wall against Justin Anderson in the ninth, and the Mets squeezed out their fourth straight win and ninth in 13 games to finish a 7-3 trip. They began the day trailing Atlanta by two games for the final NL wild card.
"We knew coming in here, especially after playing the Padres and the Diamondbacks, that we needed to keep the intensity, we needed to stay locked in, match their energy," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "I'm proud of the guys that we were able to do it one day at a time. And finally getting that last one 2-0 was important for us."
Manaea (11-5) struck out five, walked two and hit a batter with a pitch. The left-hander is 3-0 in his past four outings, and New York has won 12 of his past 15 starts.
He retired his first 11 batters before walking Lenyn Sosa, but then picked off Sosa at first base to end the fourth. The White Sox didn't get a hit until Miguel Vargas lined a single to left with two outs in the fifth.
Chicago threatened to score in the seventh, only to come away empty.
Luis Robert Jr. got hit by a pitch leading off but was thrown out trying to steal second. Andrew Vaughn walked with two outs and Gavin Sheets singled in front of sliding left fielder Jesse Winker, putting runners on the corners. Manaea then retired Vargas on a fly to left to escape that jam.
Reed Garrett retired all three batters in the eighth. Edwin Díaz struck out the side in the ninth for his 16th save in 22 chances as the Mets completed their sixth shutout of the season -- all since July 11.
The White Sox were shut out for the 15th time. They've been on the wrong end of 22 series sweeps -- tops in the majors by a wide margin. Miami is second with 10.
Chicago is 4-36 since the All-Star break and 3-18 under interim manager Grady Sizemore. The worst White Sox homestand prior to this one was when they went 0-7 from May 23 to May 29. They've lost 12 straight games at Guaranteed Rate Field, equaling a season high.
Crochet (6-10), one of Chicago's few bright spots, tied an American League record by striking out the first seven batters and whiffed eight in all over 3 innings. The All-Star left-hander gave up one run and three hits without a walk.
The White Sox are limiting Crochet's workload because he missed most of the past two seasons following Tommy John surgery and was a reliever before that.
"He was pretty frustrated when I came out there, but I think he knows the situation and what we're trying to do," Sizemore said. "He threw well. He was on, he had good stuff. It's going to be tough when he's on a short leash like that and a pitch count, that he's never going to get to go as deep as he wants."
