Just when one thinks the Chicago White Sox can't sink any lower, they turn around and find another way to lose.
The White Sox had a 6-0, that's right 6-0, lead on the lowly Kansas City Royals Tuesday night yet couldn't hold the lead and dropped their 85th game of the year, this time by a final of 7-6.
Should the White Sox go 9-15 to close out the season, they will finish with 100 losses. Regardless of how the rest of the schedule plays out, it almost makes last year's 81-81 finish seem not so bad.
Who are we kidding, both are bad. However, this loss really seems to be a new low in a season full of them.
The Chicago White Sox are a bad team that is only getting worse.
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease was tagged for five runs in five and a third innings before giving way to relievers Bryan Shaw and Aaron Bummer who shut the door on the Royals through eight innings.
However, baseball is a nine-inning game and that's where things nose-dived.
Gregory Santos came in to try and close things out but after leadoff hitter Nick Loftin reached on a throwing error by shortstop Tim Anderson, Michael Massey got him over to second on a single.
Maikel Garcia hit into a fielder's choice which set the table for Bobby Witt Jr. to tie the game with an RBI single.
Santos managed to record one more out before intentionally walking MJ Melendez to load the bases. Edward Olivares ended up bringing home the game-winning run without even having to move the bat off his shoulder.
It wasn't a walk that brought home the winning run but a balk that did it on the first pitch of Olivaras' at-bat.
The loss wiped out a nice night for first baseman Andrew Vaughn who belted his 18th home run of the season while going three-for-five on the night.
Yoan Moncada also found his home run swing (6th on the year) while rookie catcher Korey Lee connected for the first long ball of his career. That shot put an end to Lee's 0-23 slump he found himself in.
Manager Pedro Grifol added to the list of head-scratching moves he has made this season when he had Luis Robert Jr. (who was not in the starting lineup due to right quadriceps soreness) pinch-hit in the seventh inning before going out to play center field.
Robert entered with the White Sox leading six to five at the time. The move deserved questioning since they had a lead in what amounted to a meaningless game. Why risk further injury to the team's best player when the situation didn't call for him to bat let alone play the field?
With just a few weeks left in the season, it will be interesting to see what the Whtie Sox will come up with in trying to avoid the century mark in losses.