Bullet-point recap for a game I joined in progress:
*The White Sox scored two runs in the third inning and tried to make that hold up the rest of the way, which is very tough to do. Dylan Cease pitched well, and Pedro Grifol had his best relievers lined up to carry it the rest of the way, but it's difficult for any team to pitch six consecutive scoreless innings.
*In this case, the game slipped away on the watch of Keynan Middleton and Gregory Santos. Middleton ended up taking the loss because he walked Byron Buxton with one out, after which chaos ensued. Buxton stole second, moved to third on an infield single, after which Santos entered and calmed nothing down.
*Christian Vazquez greeted Santos with a drive that bounced off the top of the left-field wall and sprung back into play, which temporarily limited the Twins to a game-tying double instead of a 4-2 lead. Alas, Michael A. Taylor spanked a grooved sinker through the middle to put the Twins ahead, and while Santos was able to leave them loaded, enough damage was done.
*The White Sox had chances. They had two on and nobody out after a Luis Robert Jr. double and an Eloy JIménez walk, but while Yasmani Grandal's groundout to first advanced both runners into scoring position, they advanced no further. Jake Burger got sawed off by two inside fastballs and flared out to second, and Gavin Sheets struck out.
*Oscar Colás tried to start something in the top of the ninth when he chopped an infield single over Jhoan Duran, but while Tim Anderson kept the inning alive with a two-out infield single,. Robert struck out to end the game.
*The White Sox went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The hit was a Grandal single through the right side that scored Robert to put the Sox ahead 2-0.
*The Sox scored their first run earlier that inning on a double steal, with Robert swiping second and Anderson home. It was as though Minnesota forgot about the runner on third, because Anderson just jogged home.
*Vazquez got one of those runs back, doubling off Cease to start the inning, then scoring on a Carlos Correa double two batters later.
*Cease kept the door shut otherwise, limiting the Twins to one other hit and two walks over six innings, striking out nine. It was a fairly straightforward approach, with fastballs setting up his slider, and most of the contact either being soft or foul.
*Grifol not only emptied his bench -- assuming Andrew Vaughn was unavailable -- but he also lost the DH. He pinch-ran Remillard for Jiménez after his eighth-inning walk, and Sheets pinch-hit for Andrus, so Remillard had to play second base. Remillard was standing on deck when Robert struck out to end the game, so the move avoided being exposed further.
*The Sox are now a season-worst 18 games under .500, and 11 back of the Twins.
*Rain delayed the start of this game by 31 minutes.
