White Sox avoid loss No. 121 at home with sweep
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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
CHICAGO — It took a few days, but the White Sox may have won over their fan base — at least for the moment — in their home finale after sweeping the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday and, in the process, avoiding a record 121st loss of the season.
The White Sox began the series Tuesday to a cascade of boos as well as chants of “Sell the team” even after winning the first two games of the series. But fans came around in the finale, a 7-0 win, giving an ovation to starter Chris Flexen when he came off the mound after tossing 6⅓ shutout innings, then again after the final out.
“It was awesome, especially after the last couple of nights, hearing boos after winning a game,” Flexen said afterward. “It’s been tough, but to get that ovation was pretty special.”
Chicago scored seven runs in the fifth inning, its highest-scoring inning of the season, to help stave off history. The White Sox are tied with the 1962 Mets for the most losses in a single season in modern day history (since 1900) but finish the year against the red-hot Detroit Tigers this weekend.
They’ll need another sweep to avoid owning the record outright. They’re 39-120 after Thursday’s win.
“It’s going to be a fun atmosphere there,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “Those guys are playing for the postseason and we’re going there to compete and not make it easy.”
Sizemore said he has been wearing the same undershirt all week — though it has been washed — as the wins have piled up. His team completed just its second sweep of the season while delivering the Angels their 96th loss of the year, a franchise record. The sweep comes as the focus on the team has solely been on it setting the record. Media from all over the country descended on Chicago in anticipation of breaking the record Thursday, but the White Sox had other plans.
“It was a fun last home game,” Sizemore said. “I think [the players have] done a great job of separating and not letting all that external stuff get to them. We’ve been playing a lot better lately.”
Chicago is 6-5 over its past 11 games, the best 11-game stretch since May, but it will need another three wins to keep it tied with the Mets for most losses since 1900. The White Sox haven’t won six in a row since May 2022. The team is also 1-9 against the Tigers this year.
At least the White Sox leave their home park with fans cheering instead of booing. It’s not the way the week began.
“Fan support is huge,” first baseman Andrew Vaughn said. “Gives us energy, gives us life.”
Flexen added: “Different feeling today than the last couple days, which was nice.”
The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are rolling. The Carolina Hurricanes are reeling.
Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida’s three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves, and the Panthers beat the Hurricanes 5-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk also scored in another tone-setting opening 20 minutes for the Panthers, while Carter Verhaeghe had three assists in the win.
“It might have been natural for us to take a little bit to get going tonight, and it was the exact opposite,” said Tkachuk, whose putaway off the feed from Verhaeghe at the crease marked his first goal since Game 3 of the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. “It was an unreal start from us. The goals aside, just the way we played in the first period was as good as it gets. Yeah, that’s just a hell of a road trip.”
Florida had already ripped home-ice advantage away Tuesday night with a 5-2 win, the opener in a rematch of the 2023 conference finals swept by the Panthers with four one-goal wins. Florida tightened its grip on the series with this one and now heads back south to host Game 3 on Saturday night.
Bennett scored a second time by skating in to clean up an attempt at the right post in the final minute of the second period to make it 4-0, ending a long shift in Carolina’s end prolonged by Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns being stuck on the ice after breaking his stick. Aleksander Barkov added a goal midway through the third as punctuation.
Bobrovsky had his third shutout of the playoffs this year and the sixth of his career, with Florida’s defense smothering a Carolina team that typically peppers the net with shots but found little daylight.
Florida has won four straight road games by a combined score of 22-4, this time sending Hurricanes fans fleeing for the exits early.
“It’s fun when you’re on the road and it goes quiet,” Verhaeghe said. “It feels like we’re doing our job.”
It wasn’t all great news for Florida. Veteran forward Sam Reinhart was knocked from the game in the first period after taking a hit from Sebastian Aho in the left leg, causing Reinhart’s knee to bend awkwardly.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after the game that Reinhart would be evaluated Friday and that there would be no update on Reinhart’s status until Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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