Grady Sizemore joked that his wife Brittany told him Sunday’s postgame news conference “was a little spicy.”
“I didn’t mean for it to come off that way,” the Sox interim manager said with a smile Monday afternoon, regarding questions about loss No. 100.
“At that moment, I felt like I was just trying to protect the guys there,” Sizemore said. “We talked (pregame with reporters) about the message, and we all know what the record is and what the milestone was that day.
“I just didn’t want to continue and move forward and harp on a number. Those guys in there, they know the situation, they know how hard this year has been and the struggle.”
That message for a team was, “I don’t want these guys focusing on the record right now.”
“Just worry about tonight,” Sizemore said. “Let’s keep competing and try to just focus on the series and the game we have that night.”
The Sox have attempted to maintain that mindset while the losses keep adding up. They suffered their 100th defeat of the season Sunday, falling 9-4 to the Detroit Tigers.
It’s the sixth time in franchise history the Sox have reached 100 losses and the first time they’ve done so in consecutive years after going 61-101 in 2023.
“There hasn’t been a game this year where we tried to lose,” left fielder Andrew Benintendi said after the game. “The last week and a half, two weeks, has been better. It seems like the game is not over in the seventh like it may have been earlier in the year. We have to keep fighting.”
The Sox, who entered Monday 31-100, are nearing the team record for losses in a season and are on pace to break the modern-day American League and Major League Baseball marks.
With 31 games remaining on the schedule, here is a look at the significance of each number.
106
The Sox lost five of their first six games in 1970 on the way to a club-record 106 defeats.
They suffered their 100th loss in the second game of a Sept. 25 doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers. That was the beginning of a seven-game skid to end the season. They went 25-48 in the second half — a .342 winning percentage.
This year’s Sox stumbled out of the gate, losing 22 of their first 25.
They are 4-29 after the All-Star break (.121), which would be the lowest winning percentage in MLB history, ahead of the 1943 Philadelphia A’s (.197).
119
The Sox handed the Tigers their 100th loss of the 2003 season on Aug. 30. The Tigers lost 19 more times to set the AL record.
The Tigers did collect eight total wins against the Sox that year, their most against any team. This year, the Sox haven’t been able to reciprocate that success — going 1-8 in their first nine games against Detroit.
The 2003 Tigers had a 10-game losing streak from Sept. 13-22 to get to 118 losses. They won five of their last six, including the final two against the Minnesota Twins, to avoid matching the modern-day major league record by one loss.
120
The expansion 1962 Mets lost their first nine games and became the standard for futility with 120 losses.
Their longest losing streak of the season occurred May 21 to June 6 when they lost 17 in a row. The 2024 Sox zipped past that, losing 21 straight from July 10 to Aug. 5 to tie the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the longest skid in AL history.
With Sunday’s loss, the Sox joined the ’62 Mets and ’03 Tigers as the only teams in MLB history to lose 100-plus games before September — the Mets’ 100th defeat came on Aug. 29. They’d rather avoid doing likewise for the final loss totals.
Benintendi said the goal for the final 31 games is “just playing hard.”
“Try to keep learning,” Benintendi said. “We have a lot of young guys. They are going to face pitchers they haven’t faced before and batters they haven’t faced.
“Take what they learn from facing either, and bring that into next year. That’s probably the biggest focus.”
Sox make 5 roster moves
The Sox recalled infielder Bryan Ramos from Triple-A Charlotte, one of five roster moves made before Monday’s game against the Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox also recalled reliever Sammy Peralta from Charlotte, claimed infielder Jacob Amaya off waivers, optioned starter Ky Bush to the Knights and designated Nick Senzel for assignment.
Ramos appeared in 15 games with the Sox from May 4-29, hitting .196 (9-for-46) with two doubles and two RBIs. Peralta has a 5.06 ERA in seven relief appearances during three stints with the Sox in 2024.
Bush was 0-3 with a 5.60 ERA, 16 walks and 11 strikeouts in four starts after joining the team on Aug. 5. Senzel went 3-for-30 (.100) with one double in 10 games after signing as a free agent on July 17.
The Houston Astros designated Amaya, 25, for assignment on Saturday. He slashed .221/.308/.330 with 10 five home runs and 32 RBIs in 73 games with Triple-A Sugar Land. He’s played in five career major-league games with the Miami Marlins and Astros, going 2-for-10 (.200) with two RBIs, one run and one stolen base.
