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SAN DIEGO — The Chicago White Sox tied the American League record with their 119th loss on Saturday night, when Xander Bogaerts and Elias Díaz each hit a two-run homer to help the San Diego Padres win 6-2 and move closer to a playoff spot.
The White Sox (36-119) matched the AL mark set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who finished 43-119. One more defeat for Chicago over its final seven games would equal the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets. Chicago is 9-48 since the All-Star break.
The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the major league record for losses at 20-134.
Chris Flexen (2-15) remained winless in his last 23 starts, and the White Sox dropped their 20th straight road series.
David Peralta also homered for the Padres (89-66), who moved within three games of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West with seven to play. San Diego maintained a two-game lead over Arizona for the top NL wild card.
The surging Padres reduced their magic number to two for clinching their second playoff berth in three seasons. They got no help from Atlanta or the New York Mets, who both won Saturday.
The White Sox forced extra innings Friday night before the Padres prevailed 3-2.
“They’ve been playing some good baseball these last couple of days,” Bogaerts said. “Obviously we want to win every game by a big margin, but these guys are putting up a fight. They’re trying to be spoilers. Nothing’s been given easy to us these last couple of days. It’s been nice to be able to fight for it a little bit more than people would have expected.”
Bogaerts gave the Padres a 2-0 lead with his shot to left-centre field off Flexen with no outs in the second inning. It was Bogaerts’ 11th homer and it came with rookie Jackson Merrill aboard on a leadoff single.
Peralta homered with one out in the third, his eighth. Merrill, considered by some the front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year, hit an RBI single in the fifth.
Díaz hit a two-run shot in the eighth off former Padres reliever Enyel De Los Santos. It was his sixth.
Lenyn Sosa hit an RBI single in the sixth for the White Sox off Martín Pérez (5-5). Bryan Ramos drew a bases-loaded walk from Padres reliever Jason Adam in the eighth.
Pérez held Chicago to one run and two hits in 5 1/3 innings, struck out six and walked three.
“We’ve got to stay focused. I know it’s only two games, but we still have a long week and we have to just finish strong,” said Pérez, who came over from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.
He was backed by some outstanding defence. Third baseman Manny Machado made a nice stop of a grounder by Miguel Vargas on the game’s first pitch, and left fielder Jurickson Profar made a sensational diving catch of Chuckie Robinson’s sinking liner to end the seventh.
“This is a good team. We’ve got good guys and we’re fighting for the same thing,” Pérez said.
Tanner Scott got five outs for his 22nd save.
Flexen allowed four runs and eight hits in five innings, struck out three and walked two.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: Returned RHP Michael Soroka from a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte and reinstated him from the injured list. Designated RHP Chad Kuhl for assignment. Returned RHP Jordan Leasure from his rehab assignment, reinstated him from the IL and optioned him to Charlotte.
UP NEXT
White Sox RHP Sean Burke (1-0, 2.25 ERA) and Padres RHP Yu Darvish (6-3, 3.21) are scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale.
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