Padres beat White Sox to hand Chicago 100th loss: 'An ugly number'
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox lost 100 games for the first time since 2018 as Ha-Seong Kim had four hits to lead the San Diego Padres to a 6-1 win on Saturday night.
Michael Wacha (14-4) struck out seven, walked one and allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings as the Padres, who were eliminated from playoff contention Friday, moved to above .500 (81-80) for the first time since May 10.
“I know it’s a little too late, but it’s better than the alternative and continuing to struggle at the end, so proud of the way the guys are continuing to go about it and play hard every day and expecting to win,” manager Bob Melvin said.
Jurickson Profar had two hits and drove in four runs and Ji Man Choi added a pair of hits, his first with San Diego.
Mike Clevinger (9-9) was roughed up for six runs in 1 2/3 innings against his former team.
“Very disappointing year,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “We’re not happy about it, obviously. I can promise that we’re at work to fix this thing and get it right.”
Lenyn Sosa homered off Ray Kerr in the eighth for the White Sox, who reached 100 losses for the fifth time. Chicago has lost 14 of 20 and has the fourth-worst record in the majors. They joined Oakland and Kansas City to give the AL three 100-loss teams for the first time since 2019 (Baltimore, Detroit and the Royals).
“It’s definitely an ugly number and not something you want to see,” Clevinger said. “I know there are a lot of guys in this room who don’t want to see a complete rebuild, and 100 losses could result in something like that. A lot of these guys want to win now.”
Profar hit a three-run double to put the Padres ahead in the first after Clevinger allowed two walks and a single. Choi followed with an RBI double.
Profar’s RBI single in the second extended the lead to 6-0 and chased Clevinger in his shortest outing of the season. Clevinger was 6-4 with a 2.76 ERA in his previous 12 starts.
“A lot of things on my mind, a lot of things going on,” Clevinger said. “I didn’t have my good stuff today. That was a really good lineup, and they put together really good ABs.”
Wacha allowed one hit through five innings before giving up two singles in the sixth.
“Whenever I was out there I felt like I was one of the better, best guys in the league,” Wacha said about his season. “Had a couple little hiccups in the middle of the season but used that time to try to take advantage of that timeout to get better and keep working on different things. I felt like I came back and picked up pretty close to where I was.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The White Sox began the season with aspirations to win the AL Central but never recovered from an 8-21 start. Chicago unloaded by the trade deadline, sending infielder Jake Burger to Miami, pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers, pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Angels and reliever Keynan Middleton to the Yankees. Executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn were fired Aug. 22.
“I miss him a lot, really, really excited for him,” outfielder Gavin Sheets said about Burger going to the playoffs.
The White Sox entered Saturday 29th in the majors in runs scored and 26th in ERA.
The Padres had their own disappointing season after reaching the NLCS last year. With baseball’s third-highest payroll, San Diego fell short of a wild card despite going 19-7 in September.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: C Luis Campusano (right ankle sprain) went on the 10-day injured list. Melvin said Campusano has soreness extending to his knee. “If there were something down the road here, maybe we’d push a little harder, but it’s something that could get a little bit worse,” Melvin said. …San Diego selected the contract of rookie C Chandler Seagle from Triple-A El Paso. …RHP Joe Musgrove (right shoulder capsule inflammation) was transferred to the 60-day IL. …INF Manny Machado (tennis elbow) was out of the lineup as he nears surgery.
UP NEXT
RHP Pedro Avila (2-2, 3.57 ERA) will pitch for the Padres in Sunday’s season finale. RHP José Miguel Ureña (0-7, 7.45) will start for Chicago.
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