It was a long day for the Chicago White Sox players. They met with their former manager Tony La Russa before he announced his second retirement from baseball. Then they heard Rick Hahn paint a murky, possibly grim picture of this upcoming offseason. After all this, they collectively had to play a game against an opponent who was just as checked out as they were.
Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead early thanks to Gio Urshela’s first-inning homer, but the White Sox came back against their rivals. Thanks to a two-run bomb from Josh Harrison and the game-winning RBI from Carlos Perez, the White Sox held on for a 3-2 victory.
White Sox grabbed the lead when AJ Pollock singled to lead off the seventh inning, and after watching both Harrison and Mark Payton fly out, he stole second base. On a full count, Perez hit a slow roller that was perfectly placed between short and third to trickle into left field. Pollock motored home, and Perez picked up his first career RBI.
That lead held until the ninth inning when Liam Hendriks took over and made it pretty interesting. Pregame, Hendriks admitted to the media he looked for strikeouts more this year because he didn’t trust his teammates behind him defensively. That tendency showed when Hendriks allowed a single, hit a batter, and then walked the bases loaded. Continuing to show the same fire and passion no matter the circumstance, Hendriks pumped a high fastball by Mark Contreras to strike out the side.
Johnny Cueto made what very well could be his last start with the White Sox. He delivered another seven innings, which the Twins only did their damage in the first inning. After that, Cueto pitched six scoreless innings while striking out four. He finishes his 2022 season with a 3.35 ERA and a win-loss record of 8-10.
Somehow, the White Sox are back to .500. There’s still an opportunity to win the season series against Minnesota and finish above .500. Maybe that shred of pride left is enough to end 2022 on the highest note they can.
Box Score:
- This series will likely be the last in a Minnesota Twins uniform for Carlos Correa. He went 3-for-4.
- AJ Pollock went 2-for-3 with two runs scored
- Josh Harrison has hit seven home runs in 2022
- Jose Abreu was 1-for-3 with a walk
Record: 80-80 | Box Score
