White Sox end AL record-tying losing streak at 21 games with a 5-1 victory over the Athletics

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Benintendi hit a two-run homer and the Chicago White Sox snapped their American League record-tying losing streak at 21 games on Tuesday night, beating the Oakland Athletics 5-1.

Jonathan Cannon gave up one run over six innings to end his personal drought while helping the White Sox to their first victory since early July.

“It was just really good to get this behind us. I thought we played a clean game today,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. "Any time you win it’s great. Any time you win when you lose 21 in a row it’s even better. I’m proud of these guys.”

Chicago on Monday matched the longest losing streak since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles lost 21 in a row, falling to the Athletics 5-1. The NL record since 1900 is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 straight.

The major league low belongs to the 1889 Louisville Colonels, an American Association team that lost 26 consecutive games during a 27-111 season.

Even with the victory, the White Sox did little celebrating. They exchanged high-fives leaving the field then had soft music playing in the clubhouse afterward.

“I think it’s just a sigh of relief,” Cannon said. “We’re all major league players, we got a lot of confidence in ourselves to go out and do our jobs every night. Just wasn’t working out for us. Proud we could put it together tonight. It was a team effort all around.”

Benintendi hit his second two-run home run in three days off a fastball from A’s starter Ross Stripling down the right field line into the stands in the fourth inning. Benintendi also doubled and scored in the ninth.

After Zack Gelof cut the lead in half with his 14th home run of the season in the fourth, the White Sox scored twice in the sixth to pull away.

Brooks Baldwin singled and scored on a wild pitch, and Andrew Vaughn hit an RBI single to make it 4-1.

Cannon (2-5) had been winless in six road starts this season. The rookie right-hander allowed six hits and had five strikeouts with two walks for the win, his first since July 10.

“I think Cannon’s got that ‘it’ factor, and what I mean by that is he’s got that will to succeed,” Grifol said. “It almost looked like this wasn’t going to continue on his watch. That’s what it felt like.”

Dominic Leone and Chad Kuhl retired all six batters they faced, and John Brebbia pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish it.

Stripling (2-11) allowed four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

During warmups, Taylor Swift’s song “22” played over the loudspeakers at the Coliseum in a taunting fashion as a crowd of 5,867 danced and sang along.

Chicago, which had last won on July 10 in a doubleheader opener against Minnesota, moved to 28-88. The White Sox have been held to one run or none 32 times this season.

“They played a good, clean game tonight and we didn’t generate any offense,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “For that club over there, I’m sure they’re excited about ending their losing streak and getting a win.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: Closer Mason Miller is expected to be activated on Wednesday, according to manager Mark Kotsay. Miller has been sidelined with a broken finger on his left hand since July 23. … RHP Dany Jiménez (strained left oblique) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Las Vegas.

UP NEXT

Athletics RHP Joey Estes (5-4, 4.77 ERA) faces the White Sox for the first time in his career Wednesday. Estes is unbeaten in six starts this season at the Coliseum. Chicago RHP Davis Martin (0-1, 7.11) will make his second start since missing all of 2023 following Tommy John surgery.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, celebrates with Gavin Sheets, left, after hitting a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox shortstop Nicky Lopez throws to first for the out on Oakland Athletics' JJ Bleday during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas throws to first for the out on Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann during the seventh inning of a baseball game,Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox's Lenyn Sosa, right, watches as Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, left, is unable to catch a wild pitch thrown by Michel Otañez during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. Brooks Baldwin scored on the play. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof strikes out against the Chicago White Sox to end the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn hits an RBI single against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox fans cheer on during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, celebrates with third base coach Eddie Rodriguez after hitting a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. crashes into the wall while catching a fly ball hit by Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox's Brooks Baldwin (27) scores on a wild pitch thrown by Oakland Athletics pitcher Michel Otañez during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi watches his two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams are off to their first 0-2 start to a season since before Les Snead became their general manager 12 years ago.

They're coming off their worst loss under coach Sean McVay, a 41-10 thrashing from an Arizona Cardinals team the Rams had thoroughly dominated in McVay's eight-year career.

The Rams' extensive injury problems already encompass their top two receivers, their entire offensive line and two key members of their secondary.

And now they're about to play their biggest rivals and toughest opponents in McVay's career: The powerhouse San Francisco 49ers visit SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

Outside of an injury to Matthew Stafford, who's fully healthy, it's tough to imagine a way in which the first two weeks could have gone a whole lot worse for McVay or the team he led to six winning records in his first seven seasons.

“This league, nobody cares,” McVay said. “I feel terrible for those (injured) guys, and we certainly care, but the outside world doesn’t, and the games are going to go on.”

The Rams have fallen apart just two weeks into a season that began with hopes of playoff contention, even without retired star Aaron Donald.

Instead, the Rams are struggling to field a competitive team after just two games. The whole scenario has strong echoes of the 2022 season, when McVay's team went 5-12 amid major injury woes in the worst season by a defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history.

Several of the Rams' most important players will watch Sunday's game in street clothes. The injured list now includes receivers Puka Nacua (knee) and Cooper Kupp (ankle); starting offensive linemen Steve Avila (knee), Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and Joseph Noteboom (ankle); and starting defensive backs Darious Williams (hamstring) and John Johnson (shoulder). Several other key contributors will be playing hurt, including starting offensive linemen Kevin Dotson and Rob Havenstein.

“We’ve had some unfortunate breaks,” McVay said drily. “It’s nothing like I’ve been exposed to. This is unique, but this is an opportunity for us to be what we say we want to be.”

The Rams addressed their defense in last spring's draft, and the earliest returns are promising. Snead used his top two picks on Florida State's Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, and both have been key contributors in the front seven. Verse is already a problem on the edge, with four tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble in his first two NFL games. Third-round safety Kam Kinchens could be up for more playing time in Johnson's absence as well.

The Rams rebuilt their offensive line in the offseason to be tough up the middle, protecting Stafford and keying their running game. With two of those interior O-line starters out and a third playing injured, that plan will have to be set aside indefinitely. No team can have a backup plan for as many injuries as the Rams are facing on the line, but their backup tackles have not been sharp. They'll count on rookie Beaux Limmer, who played every snap at center last weekend, to step up again in Jackson's absence.

Safety Quentin Lake has led the Rams in tackles in each of the first two games, although that's also a criticism of Los Angeles' poor play at the line of scrimmage, as McVay noted. The Rams have allowed 394 yards rushing already this season.

The Rams' decision to dump linebacker Ernest Jones right before the regular season for a minuscule 2026 late-round draft pick upgrade looks even weirder now that Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom are struggling to fill his shoes with much less ability and talent. McVay and Snead have yet to provide an explanation for why the Rams didn't just allow their leading tackler to play out his rookie contract for 2024, and Los Angeles' linebacker play has been noticeably bad.

On top of the new injuries for Kupp, Jackson and Johnson, Rams rookie kicker Joshua Karty injured his groin. McVay said that injury isn't thought to be serious.

32 — The Rams' NFL rank in total defense after allowing 426.0 yards per game this season. Everyone suspected the defense would need a complete reset after losing Donald and coordinator Raheem Morris, but rookie coordinator Chris Shula's group has been bad, even with marginally better injury luck than the offense.

The Rams will be significant underdogs against the Niners, who have won 10 of McVay's past 13 regular-season meetings with Kyle Shanahan. If they can avoid losing several more starters to injury, they'll have a chance to regroup against less daunting opponents in the following few weeks.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tyler Johnson (18) runs against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws in the pocket against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell (5) makes a catch against Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson (34) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) runs out of the pocket against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) scores a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)