At least Yermín Mercedes picked an inconsequential evening to disrupt with an Instagram post announcing his sudden retirement.
The Twins had two-out magic while every White Sox rally threat stalled with double plays, so the bomb he dropped turned out to be a worthy distraction from a game that wasn't compelling television.
The White Sox said they're aware of Mercedes' post, which came after he was lifted in the sixth inning of Charlotte's game in Durham, but they haven't received any direct word for him or his representation. Tony La Russa said after the game that he'll try to reach out to Mercedes with an encouraging word. There are a lot of ways this story can go, so trying to guess the most likely path this takes might only lead to regret, at least as an editorial outlet.
As for the game at hand, Dylan Cease gave up three straight two-out hits, including a two-run single by Josh Donaldson, in the fifth inning to turn a 1-1 game into a 3-1 game, and Codi Heuer gave up a three-run homer to Jorge Polanco with two outs to put the game out of reach. The Sox had various chances to take command/get back into it, but four different White Sox hit into double plays, bringing a literal twist to the term "Twin killings."
Bullet points:
*Andrew Vaughn made a diving catch that might've been unnecessary, but was also controlled enough to look like a considered best option.
*Yoán Moncada hit another wall-banging double, this one at 109.2 mph, so continue to feel optimistic about where he's heading.
*The Twins are the only sub-.500 team to beat Cease this year, and they've done it twice. It didn't help that Zack Collins caught a smaller strike zone for him than Ryan Jeffers for Michael Pineda, even if it wasn't the leading factor of his early inefficiency.
