White Sox Take MLB Lead In Unfortunate Category

With a 2-1 loss to the Royals Wednesday night, the White Sox took the MLB lead with 10 one-run losses.

Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) singles against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

A trip to Kansas City has continued one of the main themes of the 2025 White Sox season: close losses.

On Tuesday, a ninth-inning meltdown with several defensive and pitching miscues led to a Bobby Witt Jr. walk-off hit to give the Royals a 4-3 win. On Wednesday, a ninth-inning rally fell short as Josh Rojas struck out with runners on first and third to seal a 2-1 loss.

Those losses gave Will Venable's club the MLB lead in a category no team wants to sit atop. The White Sox are now 2-10 in one-run games, passing the Boston Red Sox for the most one-run losses in MLB. They're also the only team in MLB with just two one-run wins, as every other team has at least three and 17 teams have at least five.

It's hard to pin close losses on one aspect in particular, as shown by the Royals series. Sometimes it's been the bullpen, which ranks 21st in MLB with a 4.44 ERA. Other times, defense has let the team down as they're tied for 29th in MLB with 27 errors. And more broadly, an offense that ranks 27th in runs scored, 29th in batting average and 30th in OPS isn't going to win many games.

But for a team that lost 121 games and had an MLB-worst minus-306 run differential last season – the next closest teams were the Rockies at minus-247 and the Marlins at minus-204 – losing close games could be a sign of progress, however small, and show that the White Sox are a more competitive team in 2025. Though they have the second-worst record in MLB, their minus-29 run differential ranks 23rd in MLB.

All of that has contributed to lowering the White Sox record to 10-27, including three straight losses to the Royals ahead of Thursday's series finale at 1:10 p.m. CT in Kansas City. The White Sox had played some of their best baseball of the season heading into this series, winning three games in a four-day stretch against the Astros and Brewers. But they've been unable to keep that momentum going in Kansas City, with one more game before returning home for a weekend series against the Marlins.

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