71

The White Sox are a team of streaks.  After winning nine in a row, including the first game of the current series in Minnesota, the Sox have now dropped three straight to the Twins.  There's nothing fun to talk about when your team is in a losing streak, so this will be short.

The amazing thing to me was that on Sunday -- a game the Sox had all but won: a three-run lead and Bobby Jenks, who had converted 20 of 21 save opportunities this season, trying but failing to close out the Twins -- the Sox collected 16 hits.  I thought to myself, "Now getting 16 hits and losing doesn't happen very often," so I did some research.  Since 1920 (as far as I was able to go back), the Good Guys have notched at least 16 hits 638 times.  Their record in those games is 558-80.  That works out to less than one loss a year when that happens, compared to more than six wins a year in the same situation.

By the way, the most hits they ever got in a game was 29, in a 29-6 win over the Athletics on April 23, 1955.  The Sox had seven homers, five doubles, and 17 singles.  The 29 runs in that game was also a team-high during since 1920.

The only good news over the weekend, was that the Tigers also lost three in a row.  So the Magic Number as to them is 71 -- it's 70 as to the Twins.  Both teams trail the Good Guys by 1.5 games.  It's on to Seattle to play the Mariners before heading to Oakland.  Go Sox!