The Pittsburgh Pirates set a new team record against the White Sox Wednesday night, but it wasn’t one they’ll look back on fondly. The South Siders handed the Bucs their lucky 13th straight loss—the most for the club since the handlebar mustache was in style among baseball players—with a come-from-behind victory.
Although it looked like the Pirates were going to pull it out with a three-run lead going into the top of the seventh, the Sox came out firing as Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski and Joe Crede got on base with consecutive singles. They all scored on a triple from Juan Uribe, who was in turn driven in by a base hit from Scott Podsednik. The runs were enough to give the Sox a 4-3 win.
Jerry Reinsdorf wasn’t surprised by the losing streak.
“C’mon, what do you expect from a team that pays its entire roster $46 million?” asked the Sox owner. “Hell, we spend that much on fireworks every year.”
“For us, it’s all about value,” Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy said. “This organization has a strong tradition of keeping our payroll low and getting the most for our money. We’ve got 26 wins to show for our $46 million payroll, whereas the White Sox have 51 wins from $103 million. That’s $1.8 million per win to the Sox’ $2 million per win. We’re clearly the better team, and we have the metrics to prove it.”
Number of the night: 23
The longest losing streak in the entire history of the Pittsburgh franchise, which transpired in 1890. The season was so god-awful for the team that it prompted them to change their name from the Alleghenies to the Pirates the next year.
