CHICAGO -- It was just three years ago when the White Sox went to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history, via a 2020 American League Wild Card berth and winning the AL Central in ‘21.

They had a plethora of young talent under extended contractual control, and nothing but an uplifting feeling for years of dominance to come.

Let’s move forward to Aug. 25, 2024, when the Tigers claimed a 9-4 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field, and the White Sox dropped to 31-100 overall. It marks the first time in the franchise's 124 years that the White Sox have produced back-to-back 100-loss seasons, finishing at 61-101 during Pedro Grifol’s first year at the managerial helm in ‘23.

They became the fourth team to lose 100+ games before the start of September, joining the 2003 Tigers and the 1962 Mets as the only teams in the modern era to do so, with the 1899 Cleveland Spiders as charter members of the club.

Postgame reaction from the White Sox went about as expected: Ongoing disappointment in this dismal season, coupled with battle fatigue from being asked about it so much.

“We’ve been talking about it all year. It’s beating a dead horse at this point,” said left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who finished 1-for-3 with an RBI in the team’s 15th straight series loss. “We are not where we want to be, obviously. We know where we are at. We know it’s not good.”

“Everyone in that locker room is aware of the record and how frustrating it is, absolutely,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “Just because it’s a number doesn’t mean I want the focus to be any different.”

The White Sox grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first behind consecutive RBI doubles from Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn also launched his 15th home run, ending the team’s season-high seven-game stretch without a long ball. But it wasn’t enough to slow down the growing list of rough team numbers attached to this campaign.

Since capturing a set against the Nationals on May 15, the White Sox are 1-26-1 in series competition.

Although they have a 5-5 mark against the American League Central-leading Guardians, they are 1-12 against the Royals and Twins and 1-8 against the Tigers for an 8-37 ledger within the AL Central. It’s just their sixth 100-loss season in franchise history, but their third since 2018.

“Obviously no one wants to lose 100 games, especially with still a month to go,” said White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon, who fell to 2-8 after allowing five runs in four innings. “We're going to keep coming here every day, getting our work in, and just going out there and trying to win some ballgames.”

Even in these moments of rough-looking losses, with the White Sox committing four errors Sunday, the clubhouse and the roster have held together. The team continues to fight and work hard, and their resolve has shown stronger since Sizemore took over, although the team is 3-11 in his tenure.

“We’ve been staying at least competitive late in the games, even when we are down to where, earlier in the year, we were down four or five runs in the seventh and it seemed like it was pretty much over,” Benintendi said. “Everybody in here is a professional.

“Everybody knows what they need to do to be ready to play. It’s not been a fun year or a good year. So, I think everybody can learn from this and move forward.”

What went wrong from 2021 to the last couple of seasons? The list starts with injuries to key players and underperformance from key players and hits a number of different categories. In total honesty, that wrong-way change is past history.

General manager Chris Getz and his front office, however, know it's a process, as Getz made clear during his pregame comments Friday.

“Now we’ve got to really put our minds together and put a plan together to improve us in all facets of the organization,” Getz said. “We know there will be no shortcuts along the way.

“We are committed to doing what’s right for us long term. And we’ve got to stay the course. Not cave based on pressures or noise outside of the organization and do what’s right for us so we can be successful in the future.”