CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox were hoping 2025 would be better after they lost 121 games last year, a major league record since 1900.
Instead, their pain is continuing in new and unique ways.
Chicago’s 3-2 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday night was its seventh straight. The South Siders are 2-9, the same record they had after 11 games last season.
The White Sox were on the verge of tying the score in the ninth inning when Mike Tauchman appeared to get injured while rounding third base after an RBI single by Miguel Vargas.
Tauchman, who just came off the injured list Sunday after sustaining a right hamstring strain late in spring training, pulled up after rounding third and was tagged by catcher Austin Hedges for the final out following a throw from left fielder Steven Kwan.
Chicago manager Will Venable said after the game that Tauchman was still being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
“It’s unfortunate, obviously. Hope Mike is all right, and the outcome of the game speaks for itself,” Venable said. “We’re still gathering information on him and see what we got.”
Kwan said he thought it was going to be a close play at the plate, so he was just trying to secure the ball at first.
“It wasn’t really a great throw, but Austin corralled it and I saw how nonchalant (Tauchman) was,” Kwan said. “I saw the guy pulling up and you never want to see a guy pulling up like that, especially when the game is on the line. You had to know that was really hurting him.”
The White Sox held the Guardians to three hits for the second straight day, but still lost. It’s the first time in the 125-year history of the franchise the team has dropped consecutive games with three or fewer hits allowed.
The close loss wasn’t the only unfortunate thing to happen to Chicago on Wednesday.
White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, their best offensive player this season, was placed on the 10-day injured list before the game. During the sixth inning, catcher Korey Lee had to be helped off the field after he rolled his left ankle.
Lee was trying to get back to first base after pinch-hitter Nick Maton struck out when he stepped awkwardly on the bag as Hedges made a pickoff throw. Lee got back in time initially but his foot came off the bag and he was tagged out by Carlos Santana to end the inning.
Venable said X-rays on Lee’s left ankle were negative and he was undergoing more tests.
Benintendi is sidelined because of a left adductor strain. He said before Wednesday’s game that he thinks the injury occurred during the first inning of Saturday’s game when he made a leaping catch into the left-field wall to rob Jake Rogers of a hit.
Benintendi leads the White Sox in several offensive categories, including batting average (.290), total bases (15) and RBIs (six). He also is tied for the team lead in home runs with two.
“He’s a big part of our offense. I mean, he’s right there in the heart of our order every day,” Venable said. “He’s a guy that I think everyone looks to and has that kind of stability and presence in our lineup that we’re definitely going to miss.”
The White Sox are batting .202 after Wednesday’s game, the third-lowest average in the majors.
“I think right now you’re seeing some quality at-bats and we’re just not having the results,” Venable said. “There’s a process in play here that we’ve gone through. We’re really happy about some of the underlying stuff. We look forward to that bringing results on the field with runs and wins.”
If Tauchman and Lee end up joining Benintendi on the injured list, the White Sox might end up being short-handed for Thursday’s early afternoon start.
Cleveland — which won its home opener 1-0 on Tuesday on a game-ending walk to Nolan Jones with the bases loaded — has won two straight with three or fewer hits for the first time since 1901.
The Guardians are the first team since the 1995 Colorado Rockies to do that.
“Yeah, it’s definitely something a little different,” Kwan said. “You come to the ballpark, you can see something new every day, so it’s good that we were on this end of it. But we could have very easily been on the other side.”
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