Twins 3, White Sox 2: Missed opportunity to extend winning streak

The Minnesota Twins will garner national attention as they extend their winning streak to eight games in a contest they probably shouldn't have won. White Sox pitchers had a good night, limiting the Twins to just seven baserunners. But despite the Sox outhitting Minnesota, they couldn't find one more big knock after the first inning. 

The White Sox started the game on a high note, with Andrew Vaughn's RBI double into left-center field setting the stage for a promising inning, sparking hope among the fans and dogs in attendance (It was Dog Night). Gavin Sheets' single to right field intensified the excitement, putting Twins starter Joe Ryan under pressure with runners on the corners and nobody out.

Eloy Jimenez was next, and he would set an unfortunate trend on the night by hitting into the 6-4-3 double play. Vaughn scored, and the White Sox were up 2-0, but that was it for the night's run production. White Sox hitters had nine ground outs, two were double plays and they finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position overall. Sox batters doubled Minnesota's hit total (eight to four) while drawing the same amount of walks with three apiece.

Minnesota tied the game in the second inning as Carlos Santana continued his hot surge by hitting a two-run home run off Crochet. Willi Castro followed up with an infield single and stole second base, but he was left stranded in scoring position. That sequence represented the only hits Crochet allowed, who had an excellent bounce-back performance, going 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K on 77 pitches. 

Tied 2-2 going into the ninth inning, Byron Buxton once again tormented the White Sox by hitting a leadoff double off John Brebbia. Max Kepler would follow with a single to right field, and quickly, the Twins had their first lead of the night. Brebbia was able to limit the damage, but it broke a nice streak of six-straight hitless innings from White Sox pitchers. 

Brad Keller made his White Sox debut, replacing Crochet in the sixth inning. Despite Keller's control issues (16 balls to 15 strikes) that saw him walk two hitters, he pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Left-handed reliever Tim Hill picked up an out before Michael Kopech took over in the eighth inning. On just 16 pitches, Kopech pitched a 1-2-3 inning with 12 strikes and struck out one batter. 

The White Sox had the game-tying run 90 feet away in the ninth. Danny Mendick walked to start the rally, and manager Pedro Grifol went to his bench looking for a big hit. Tommy Pham entered the game on a scheduled off day and hit a nice line drive, but it was right at Kepler in right field for the second out. In a curious switch, Grifol had Robbie Grossman bat for Paul DeJong, who theoretically had a better chance of hitting a two-run homer. The move paid off for Grifol as Grossman picked up a single on a Kansas City Special to right field, and Mendick hustled his way over to third base. 

It was Korey Lee's turn to play the hero, but Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar struck him out on three pitches, ending the game. It's a frustrating loss for the White Sox, but with 23 defeats already on the season, this type of game gets lost in the shuffle. 

Game Notes: 

• Andrew Vaughn had a multi-hit game going 2-for-4, raising his season OPS to .482
• Andrew Benintendi was 1-for-4
• Gavin Sheets was 1-for-3 with a walk. His .844 OPS leads the White Sox

Record: 6-23 | Box Score | StatCast