White Sox on 3-game winning streak for first time in nearly 3 months after beating Angels 8-4

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Benintendi homered twice for the third time this season and drove in four runs, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-4 Monday night for their first three-game winning streak in nearly three months.

“It's been fun to watch. He's on a nice little stretch right now," interim manager Grady Sizemore said about Benintendi, who is 6 for 12 with three homers and six RBIs during the winning streak. “He's doing it against righty's, lefty's. He's coming through for us.”

It is only the fourth time the White Sox have won at least three in a row — and the first since June 27-29, when they beat Atlanta and Colorado. Chicago took two of three from Oakland over the weekend to snap a string of 20 consecutive series losses.

On Tuesday night, Chicago will try to match its season-high winning streak of four, which happened May 8-11 against Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

“The wins have been hard to come by, so when you can get one, you appreciate it. When you get a couple in a row, it’s even better,” Sizemore said. “It was a good atmosphere in the dugout. Guys are happy right now.”

The White Sox are 36-115 with 11 games left and are trying to avoid the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets. Chicago is 16-57 away from home, well off the post-1900 mark of 65 road losses by the 1935 Boston Braves.

“We’re showing up every day, playing our best baseball and one day at a time. I’m not worried about the future,” said first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.

The White Sox took a 3-0 first-inning lead in a matchup of teams with the worst records in the American League. Benintendi hit a two-run shot to right field off Angels starter Reid Detmers (4-7). Two pitches later, Vaughn drove a fastball over the wall in left-center.

It was the fifth time the White Sox hit back-to-back homers, but it was the first since June 13 in Seattle.

In the second inning, Benintendi’s grounder drove in Zach DeLoach to make it 5-0. The left fielder hit his team-leading 19th home run in the seventh inning on a solo shot to right-center.

Lenyn Sosa also went deep for the White Sox as his homer to lead off the third inning extended their lead to 7-1.

Rookie Jonathan Cannon (4-10) went 6 2/3 innings and picked up his second win in three September starts. The right-hander tied a season-high with seven strikeouts and allowed four runs and three hits.

The Angels have dropped six straight despite Eric Wagaman’s first big-league homer. Charles Leblanc also had a solo shot.

Los Angeles' 90th loss came in its 150th game, the quickest it has reached that mark in franchise history.

With 10 straight losing seasons, the Angels are trying to avoid having the most losses in franchise history in Ron Washington’s first year as manager. The record is 95, set in 1968 and 1980.

“You could see the body language out there. He didn’t have the feel for things he wanted to do, and when it didn’t happen, he didn’t stay focused and tried to make it happen. It look like he just gave into it,” said Washington about Detmers, who allowed seven runs in 5 1/3 innings.

TRAINER'S ROOM

White Sox: 3B Yoán Moncada was activated off the 60-day injured list. He had been on the IL since April 10 because of a left adductor strain.

Angels: CF Mike Trout (left knee) said he would consider a position change next season. ... 2B Michael Stefanic (right calf tightness), 2B Brandon Drury (left hamstring tightness) and OF Mickey Moniak (left hand) were not in the lineup.

UP NEXT

White Sox RHP Davis Martin (0-4, 4.14 ERA) makes his ninth start and 10th appearance of the season. Angels RHP Griffin Canning (5-13, 5.35 ERA) looks to bounce back after allowing 10 runs (nine earned) in 5 2/3 innings on Sept. 10 at Minnesota.

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

Chicago White Sox catcher Chuckie Robinson, left, and relief pitcher Justin Anderson congratulate each other after the White Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angels 8-4 in a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Angels right fielder Gustavo Campero makes a catch on a ball hit by Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox second baseman Jacob Amaya fields a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels' Jordyn Adams during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. Adams was thrown out at first on the play. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn walks into the dugout after the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Jacob Amaya, below, scores on a single by Luis Robert Jr. as Los Angeles Angels catcher Matt Thaiss stands at the plate during the second inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, is congratulated by Luis Robert Jr. after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox right fielder Zach DeLoach makes a catch on a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels' Charles Leblanc to end their baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — As election officials across the country boost security ahead of November's election, the leader of one of the most intensely scrutinized offices in a presidential swing state said it's not personal threats or worries about conflicts at the polls that keep her up at night.

It's the little things that could loom large once voting begins, the day-to-day logistics of making sure everything runs smoothly at 180 polling sites in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest city, from ensuring there are enough ballots to having a sufficient number of poll workers.

“Being a new election administrator is a big challenge,” Paulina Gutierrez said at Milwaukee's elections center as workers prepared to meet Thursday's deadline for mailing absentee ballots. “This is a huge operation of logistics and ensuring, ‘Have we covered everything?’”

Wisconsin is one the major political battlegrounds that will help decide the presidency. It is also one of the states where former President Donald Trump disputed his loss four years ago and where some of his most loyal supporters served as fake electors to challenge the outcome. The pressure on election officials is immense, especially in large, Democratic strongholds such as Milwaukee, which have been the focus of false claims by Trump of election wrongdoing in the past.

Adding to the pressure on Gutierrez is that this year's presidential election will be the first major election she will oversee. With early voting nearing, she's undaunted.

“I’m feeling really confident my staff and I are ready," she said.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Gutierrez primarily worked for the state prison system and other city jobs for 17 years before being tapped to lead the Milwaukee elections department.

Because of the importance of Milwaukee in presidential politics, it was something of a shock in May — just six months before the election — when the city's mayor announced that he was replacing the top election administrator, who had presided over the 2020 presidential election and had been with the city’s election commission for more than a decade.

Gutierrez, the deputy elections director since early 2023, took over. She has since overseen an August primary election without incident and earned bipartisan praise.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, who appointed Gutierrez, said he was “extremely” confident in her, citing the smooth primary election.

“We’ve been working diligently, around the clock to make sure that we’re in a position to execute the election successfully,” Johnson said. “And I have confidence that we will absolutely do that.”

Republicans who oversee elections in the state also expressed confidence that Milwaukee and Gutierrez are ready, a sign that perhaps the elections office will escape the false claims around voting and harassment of staff that has plagued so many election offices elsewhere since 2020.

“Paulina has done exceptionally well grasping everything,” said Doug Haag, the Republican member of the Milwaukee Election Commission.

He and Republican Bob Spindell, who served 18 years as a Milwaukee election commissioner and is now on the state elections commission, both praised longtime city workers and volunteers with helping to ensure the process runs smoothly.

“We are dedicated to election integrity and making sure the process runs smoothly,” Haag said.

Spindell, who served as a fake elector for Trump in 2020 and bragged following the 2022 midterm election about efforts to depress Black and Hispanic voter turnout in Milwaukee, said he doesn’t know Gutierrez but praised how the August primary was run and said the city is ready for November.

“It appears everything is working out pretty well,” he said. “I have not heard complaints from anybody.”

The praise is notable, given that scrutiny of elections officials across the country has never been higher. Clerks are also dealing with threats against them and election workers.

“I have not received any threats,” Gutierrez said. “But our office does, every once in a while, receive harassing phone calls. And it typically it’s not from people from our community. We always have to remain vigilant.”

Political parties and outside groups are working to increase the number of poll watchers in Wisconsin and other battleground states. That has led to worries of an increased risk of confrontations and problems at voting locations.

This year brings an added level of anxiety after updates to the poll watcher rules were rejected by a Republican-controlled legislative committee, leading to concerns that both observers and poll workers won’t know the law.

Gutierrez has received some guidance in the past four months to help her prepare.

Her predecessor, Claire Woodall, had a separation agreement with the city that allowed her to work with Gutierrez into August to smooth the transition. Her departure came after the former deputy elections commissioner, Kimberly Zapata, was was convicted in March of misconduct in office and fraud for obtaining fake absentee ballots. Zapata argued that she was acting as a whistleblower, exposing vulnerabilities in the state’s election system.

Since 2020, election officials throughout Wisconsin have made changes to protect the security of the vote, improve how elections are run and ward off allegations of wrongdoing should Trump once again question the outcome.

Those steps include additional training of officials in the more than 1,800 cities, towns and villages across the state that actually run elections and bolstering security of the state's voter registration database. They also have implemented a series of recommended improvements made in a statewide audit and updating the absentee ballot envelope to reduce common errors and improve visibility in the postal system.

A challenge across the state is that many election officials, like Gutierrez, are new to their roles this year. Wisconsin has seen high turnover in officials who run elections, mirroring the national trend following the 2020 election, and about 40% of county clerks will be administering their first presidential election. Those 72 elected county clerks prepare and distribute ballots to the 1,850 local officials, including Gutierrez, who then run the elections.

Much of the criticism of Milwaukee has come because of how late the city sometimes reports votes that are cast absentee and counted at one central location. State law forbids reporting partial results, which means results in places such as Milwaukee and Green Bay, both of which are heavily Democratic, are not reported in high turnout elections until deep into election night.

Since 2020, the city has taken steps designed to speed the counting of absentee ballots, including buying faster machines to process the ballots and recruiting more workers. Gutierrez anticipates about half as many absentee ballots will be cast this year as were cast during the pandemic four years ago, which should speed the counting.

Her highest priority, she said, is making certain that the election she is overseeing withstands all scrutiny.

“I have been dedicating my entire career to public service," she said. "I am born and raised for the city of Milwaukee. My family lives here. I am dedicated to ensuring that we have safe, secure and fair elections.”

Milwaukee's election administrator Paulina Gutierrez, right, talks to Phyllis Whitley, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in the city's election operation center in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee's election administrator Paulina Gutierrez, left, talks to Phyllis Whitley, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in the city's election operation center in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee's election administrator Paulina Gutierrez poses for a photo Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in the city's election operation center in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)