Things are a lot less sunny when you leave Los Angeles.
As the Chicago White Sox lost their 21st straight game on Monday night in Oakland — tying an American League record — cameras panned to infielder Miguel Vargas sulking in a corner of the team’s dugout.
With the scoreboard graphic overlaid, Vargas looked coaches up and down while hardly even quivering a lip.
Oh my god I’m so sorry Miguel 😭💔 pic.twitter.com/l8PHXrDVsW
— clarissa (@clarisssaaa_c) August 6, 2024
The 24-year-old joined the lowly White Sox on July 29 in a trade that sent reliever Michael Kopech and infielder Tommy Edman to the Dodgers, plus starter Erick Fedde to the Cardinals.
In that span, the White Sox have gone 0-6 despite Vargas starting every game.
During that stretch, the utilityman has hit just 3-for-24 (.125) with two extra-base hits, two RBIs and two walks.
As a team, Chicago’s last win arrived on July 10 against the Minnesota Twins and could challenge the modern MLB record with 23 straight losses, a feat accomplished by the Phillies in 1961.
The White Sox last even led a game in the sixth inning against Minnesota on Aug. 3 but eventually surrendered four runs in the final four innings to lose.
Michael Kopech went from worst to first overnight. Getty Images
Meanwhile, the Dodgers — who boast the NL’s second-best record at 66-47 — have gone 3-3 since acquiring Kopech, including winning their last three matchups.
In a battle of two of baseball’s best on Monday night, the Dodgers held on for a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, featuring a scoreless inning of relief from Kopech.
Vargas, who spent most of his first three seasons in Los Angeles, isn’t used to losing with much regularity.
In the last three years, the Dodgers have gone 277-160 in the regular season, tallying 12 more wins than any other team.
However, the postseason has been more of a house of horrors.
Los Angeles famously lost in the NLDS to the Padres and Diamondbacks in consecutive years, not mustering more than one win in each individual series.
As Mookie Betts, Edman and other Dodgers return to action in the final six weeks of MLB’s regular season, Los Angeles looks to exorcise its postseason demons and reach the World Series for the first time since 2020.
LA hopes that Shohei Ohtani can change its tough postseason fate of the last few years. AP
On the other hand, the White Sox look to avoid surpassing the 1988 Orioles for the longest losing streak since 1961.
