White Sox ruin Lance Lynn's franchise-record performance

Lynn entered the contest with a 4-7 record and a career-worst 6.75 ERA in 14 starts, but the 36-year-old turned back the clock against the Mariners. Lynn allowed three earned runs off four hits through seven innings, tying Jack Harshman (1954) for the White Sox single-game strikeout mark. 

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Lynn drew 33 whiffs on Sunday, tied for the second-most since 2008, trailing only Clayton Kershaw (2015), Danny Duffy (2016) and Jacob deGrom (2020), who each had 35. 

While Lynn was pitching lights out, his offense never picked him up. The White Sox bats were relatively quiet, racking up only six hits in the loss while finishing 2-of-5 with runners in scoring position. 

To put Lynn's tough-luck loss in perspective, he's only the 17th pitcher in the modern era to post 16 strikeouts in a game and lose. Meanwhile, it's only the third time a team has lost by four or more runs in a 16-strikeout performance and the first since 2011, per OptaStats. 

Sunday's offensive letdown for the White Sox is becoming all too familiar as of late. Opponents have held the White Sox to a run or less 13 times this season and four times in June alone. 

At 31-42, only the Kansas City Royals (19-52) and Oakland A's (19-55) separate the White Sox from last in the AL. Nearing the All-Star break, they find themselves nine games behind the pace in the AL Central and wildcard races.