Andrew Benintendi provided the game's first highlight and the last base knock. The White Sox's big cash free agent signing robbed Carlos Correa of a home run in the first inning and had the walk-off single in extras as the Chicago White Sox have finally won back-to-back games in 2023 by beating Minnesota, 3-2.
It was a quick first five innings as both starting pitchers, Michael Kopech and Joe Ryan, found a good rhythm. It was a scoreless game heading into the sixth inning when Kopech began to lose his release point. Byron Buxton collected the Twins first hit with a single, followed by Kopech walking both Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa. With the bases loaded, Trevor Larnach's fly out to center field was deep enough to score Buxton. Larnach's sac fly gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
Despite throwing 89 pitches, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol deemed that a deep enough outing for Kopech. In six innings of work, Kopech only allowed one hit, which is very impressive, but five walks show he wasn't in total command. Nonetheless, the stellar outing by Kopech lowered his season ERA to 5.97.
Kopech leaned on his four-seam fastball in this outing, throwing it 63 times. With an average velocity of 95.3 mph, Kopech could generate ten whiffs out of 27 swings from Twins hitters against the heater.
Meanwhile, White Sox hitters had a terrible time against Joe Ryan. Entering the game with a 5-0 record, Ryan was outstanding in his six innings. Just like Kopech, Ryan only allowed one base hit but only two walks. The White Sox were shut out until the seventh inning.
Even though Ryan had thrown 87 pitches, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli had reliever Jorge Lopez enter in the seventh inning. That move appeared to backfire immediately as Andrew Vaughn greeted Lopez with a single to center field. Lopez threw a two-seamer off the plate inside on the next pitch, but Eloy Jimenez got enough good wood pulling the pitch for a two-run homer. Jimenez's third blast of the season suddenly gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead.
That good feeling didn't last long. Joining the White Sox for a second time, Alex Colome made his season debut with a crack of holding down the eighth inning. Before Colome even threw a pitch, he took too long and was called for a pitch violation against Nick Gordon. Down 3-1 in the count, Colome tried to sneak a four-seam fastball up in the zone past Gordon but instead watched it travel 414 feet over the center field wall. Gordon's first home run of the season tied it up, 2-2.
As we've seen too often this season, a sense of dread was felt at Guaranteed Rate Field, expecting the worse to come from White Sox relievers. However, Grifol went to Keynan Middleton with two outs in the eighth inning and got a good result. After closing out the eighth with no problems, Middleton shut down the Twins lineup in the ninth inning, including an emphatic strikeout against Joey Gallo.
The stage was again set for another walk-off win for the White Sox. Vaughn was the last game's hero and led off with a walk. This result prompted Grifol to pinch run with one of his new bench players, Billy Hamilton. With Jimenez batting, Hamilton made his first stolen base attempt. Initially, Hamilton was called out at second base, but on replay, it was clear that Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco whiffed on the tag.
Jimenez would later ground out to third baseman Jose Miranda, but when Miranda made his throw to first base, Hamilton used his speed to advance. The Twins could not complete a throw-in time back to third base, and now Hamilton was just 90 feet away from winning the game. With the one out, Baldelli called for his reliever Brock Stewart to intentionally walk Luis Robert Jr. Now a double play opportunity was set up for Minnesota with Adam Haseley batting.
A well-placed bunt would have been an interesting call in this situation, especially with Miranda at third base. Could he field a bunt and make a throw to home plate beating the speedy Hamilton in time to prevent the White Sox from winning? It's an interesting hypothetical, especially since Haseley hit a high pop fly that barely got out of the infield and was not deep enough to score Hamilton. Stewart would pitch around Yasmani Grandal to load the bases for Hanser Alberto, ending the threat with a fly out to right field.
Now entering extra innings, Grifol went to Jimmy Lambert, hoping to limit the Twins damage in the tenth inning. Unlike his last appearance against Tampa Bay, Lambert flourished, striking out Christian Vazquez, inducing a weak comeback from Gordon, and punching out Buxton, keeping the Twins scoreless.
Elvis Andrus laid down the sac bunt for the White Sox bottom half, moving Alberto to third base. Returning from the IL seemed like an excellent opportunity for Tim Anderson to provide an immediate impact. Instead, the White Sox shortstop grounded out to Correa, with Alberto not moving to home plate.
So with two outs, it came down to Benintendi. On a 2-2 count and facing left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar, Benintendi sent an outside four-seamer down the left-field line. Benintendi's only hit was enough as Alberto scored, and in back-to-back games, the White Sox dugout celebrated in walk-off fashion.
Game Notes:
- When Grifol had Hamilton pinch run for Vaughn, it left the White Sox with a tricky situation at first base. Earlier in the game, Haseley replaced Gavin Sheets so it was up to Grandal to play first base with Seby Zavala entering the tenth inning to catch.
- Outside of Colome, the trio of Gregory Santos, Middleton, and Lambert went 3.1 innings not allowing a base runner while striking out three.
- It was also Dog Day at the ballpark. Lots of good boys and girls got a chance to take in the victory, including my dog, Frankie.
