The Tigers had a chance to clinch a playoff berth tonight, and the White Sox could break the modern baseball record with their 121st loss. Both starting pitchers were on a pitch limit, with the Tigers utilizing their bullpen against Garrett Crochet.

And both teams met their goals … well, maybe just the Tigers. I hope the White Sox didn’t set a goal of 121 losses.

Nicky Lopez started the game with a line out to third. Zach DeLoach hustled to third base after a hit to right field but ended up back at second after the umpires questioned if a fan touched the ball. The White Sox didn’t challenge the play, giving the Tigers their first break of the night. Andrew Vaughn kept DeLoach stranded after battling Brenan Hanifee.

Andy Ibáñez started the inning with a pop out, but Garrett Crochet gave up a double to Matt Vierling right after. Crochet set up Riley Greene and took him out with a fastball for strike three, his first strikeout of the night, and got Justyn-Henry Malloy to end the inning.

Greene, now in left field, stole a hit from Gavin Sheets. Lenyn Sosa and Bryan Ramos had back-to-back groundouts.

Wenceel Pérez went down swinging, becoming Crochet’s third strikeout victim of the night. Spencer Torkleson singled, but Lopez turned a double-play from Trey Sweeney’s hit.

Brant Hurter replaced Hanifee to start the third inning. Dominic Fletcher hit a one-out single, the second hit of the night for the White Sox. Lopez singled, but the Tigers were quicker than Fletcher and got the force out at second. DeLoach ended the inning with a strikeout, stranding one.

Lopez scooped up the ball and tossed it to first to get Jake Rogers out. Crochet struck out Parker Meadows and baffled Ibáñez, who is typically great against any average southpaw. Thankfully, Crochet is far from average and had an easy 1-2-3 inning.

The White Sox folded with ease in the fourth, giving Hurter a quick inning in a still scoreless game.

Crochet, still out for the fourth had a sweeper drop, but Korey Lee was quick enough to control the ball and get it to first to avoid a drop-third strike from turning into a hit. Greene singled, and Malloy worked up the count, but Crochet cut him off with a fastball to win the battle. Pérez also put up a fight against Crochet but reached after a bad throw from Ramos to first. That error from the White Sox brought up Torkelson who drew a walk to load the bases. Crochet, now at 58 pitches, was clearly out of gas. He successfully talked Sizemore into staying in to face fellow lefty Sweeney. Thanks to Lopez, Sweeney was out at first to end the inning and bail Crochet out of a bases-loaded jam.

Here is how he looked tonight:

The White Sox were once again retired in order.

Jared Shuster took over for Crochet in the bottom of the fifth. He issued a walk to Rogers, a single to Meadows, and another walk to Ibáñez to load the bases. A wild pitch sends Rogers home during Vierling’s at-bat, who then sends Meadows home on a sac fly.

Greene, for Shuster’s sake, struck out for the second out and Malloy would follow suit. Shuster avoided any further damage but hopefully learned that leadoff walks will always come back to haunt you.

Hurter might’ve retired 10 in a row, but DeLoach managed to hit a solo home run off a hanging slider to put the White Sox on the board. It was his first big league home run. Moments later, Benintendi’s hit was gloved to end the inning.

Much to my chagrin, Shuster came back out for the sixth and gave up a one-out walk to Torkelson. Another wild pitch sent Torkelson to second. Shuster redeemed himself with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

Will Vest stepped in for the Tigers to pitch in the seventh with a quick 1-2-3 inning.

Fraser Ellard entered to pitch in the bottom of the seventh to face the bottom of the lineup. Meadows tried to work the count but swung at the final pitch only to be gloved by Fletcher. Ibáñez on the other hand hit a slider down and slid into third, with the play scored as a double E8. Vierling was intentionally walked with one out, despite being up 3-1 in the count. This would be a huge regret after Greene hit the ball off the center field wall, sending Ibáñez home.

Another pitch bounced off Lee, sending in another run with just one out.

Ellard continued with command problems by walking Malloy. Pérez popped the ball up for the second out and Ellard was pulled from the mound. Enyel De Los Santos replaced Ellard with runners in the corners, a three-run deficit, and Torkelson in the batter’s box. Ramos put an end to the brutal seventh by jumping to rob Torkelson of a hit.

Vest retired Ramos and Lee before the Tigers made a call to the bullpen. Tyler Holton replaced Vest in search of the final out of the inning and got it, striking out Fletcher.

Prelander Berroa, now in for the White Sox gave up a one-out double to Rogers. Colt Keith stepped in to pinch hit and was intentionally walked. That walk ended better than the previous intentional walk, as Lopez fielded a hit by Vierling for the last out.

The Tigers crowd started singing “We Will Rock You” as the team looked to shut down the White Sox and clench a playoff berth. Holton gave up a four-pitch walk, the first walk of the night, to Miguel Vargas. Colt Keith made the out at second after DeLoach’s hit. Another on-the-ground hit would get the second out, on second, but Benintendi just beat the throw to first. With one out to go, Jason Foley stepped in to replace Holton with Vaughn at the plate. With only two pitches, Vaughn’s fly ball landed in the glove of Pérez. And just like that, history is made for both teams. The Tigers clinched for the first time in 10 seasons, and the White Sox broke the record for the worst season in modern baseball history, breaking the tie they had coming into the game with the 1962 Mets.

It was quite the honor to end my recap assignments for this lifeless season by covering the record-breaking 121st loss. It was a pleasure snarking this White Sox team alongside all of you. Goodnight and I’ll see you next season.