Remember that sniff of momentum I mentioned in the Game Thread? Well, the Sox just ran it up to four straight, baby. The first inning was a bit of a mess for the South Siders, as after two quick outs, the wheels came off. Trevor Larnach poked a single, then Luke Keaschall doubled him home. Matt Wallner followed with another RBI knock that crossed up Brooks Baldwin in right, and just like that, 2-0 Twins, with the Sox already in a hole.
Edgar Quero tried to spark something with a solo shot in the second,
but that was the end of the fun for a while as the South Side bats rolled over and hit snooze for seven innings.
Did the contest continue on as a pitching duel, or was it just a parade of limp bats? Take your pick. Byron Buxton ripped a triple to lead off the fifth, but the Sox defense actually showed up for once and stranded him. Yoendrys Gómez did his part on the mound after getting Larnach to ground out by throwing Buxton out at home on a fielder’s choice.
It was still 2-1 heading into the sixth, and not a whiff of offense in sight for the Good Guys. Lenyn Sosa started the frame with a single, but Montgomery, Quero, and Andrew Benintendi went down in order.
Zebby Matthews shoved for the Twins, giving up just the Quero blast and two singles to Sosa and Curtis Mead. He poured ice water on the Sox lineup that hung 12 runs last night, only for his bullpen to torch it. For once, Chicago flipped the script.
Gómez called it a night after five, another solid line: two runs (one earned), seven hits, a walk, five punchouts.
Mike Vasil took over for Gómez, and the Twins quickly pounced on the righthander. Ryan Jeffers punched a single to center, Brooks Lee moved him over with a ground out, and Royce Lewis landed the punch with a base hit to left. Just like that, 3-1 Twinkies. Another uphill slog for the Sox. Feel like you’ve seen this movie before?
Relievers Brandon Eisert and Grant Taylor combined to hold the Twins scoreless through the last two innings. Taylor looked particularly good, firing off 99 mph fastballs like nobody’s business, mowing down two batters.
These young guys just don’t quit and made things very interesting in the top of the ninth. Quero singled with one down. Benny followed by working a walk, and after Mead went down swinging, Baldwin ripped a single to right, scoring pinch runner Korey Lee and moving Benny to third; Twins still up 3-2.
With Minnesota snoozing on Baldwin, he swiped second, putting the go-ahead tally in scoring position. Enter veteran Michael A. Taylor, who, with a 2-2 count, drilled a 114.5 mph sweeper for a double down the left field line, plating both Benny and Baldwin. The ball just kissed the chalk, managing to stay fair.
Jordan Leasure came on to close things out in the ninth. After giving everyone a heart attack by coughing up a double and walk to start the inning, he retired the next three batters in order for a White Sox winner!
The South Siders go for the series sweep and wrap up the set tomorrow night with Shane Smith on the bump. See you then.
