Think of all the White Sox games where a combination of the following elements would've made a difference:
- Six runs?
- Contributions from Nicky Lopez and Martín Maldonado?
- A scoreless inning from Michael Kopech in the highest possible leverage?
Alas, the White Sox lack even the most rudimentary knowledge about effective sequencing, so when the dust settled, they remained winless against the Twins in eight chances.
This one had other hallmarks of a White Sox loss, like their 32nd blown lead of the season, their 15th when leading after six innings, and their third straight game doing so. Throw in a couple of scoreless extra innings, and they did enough to remind you that you were watching a 2024 White Sox game after all.
For a brief moment, it appeared as though the uniforms had changed, as the White Sox broke open a tie game with three runs via a goofy sequence in the bottom of the sixth. Andrew Benintendi led off by getting clipped by a Steven Okert pitch, then going to third on Andrew Vaughn's double. Luis Robert Jr. pinch-hit for Gavin Sheets and struck out, but Eloy Jiménez picked him up with a single to center that gave the Sox a 3-2 lead.
After Paul DeJong struck out, Nicky Lopez cranked up the craziness. First, he chopped a single over the head of first baseman Jose Miranda for an RBI single and runners at the corners. Lopez then took off for second, and Ryan Jeffers threw to a base nobody was covering. Willi Castro made a spectacular effort to catch the ball behind second base, but then he was penalized with an error when his throw home caromed off the mound and past Jeffers, which allowed Lopez to take third. Corey Julks then grounded out to end the rally, but the Sox led 5-2 regardless.
The next time they came to the plate, they'd trail by one. Jordan Leasure had a miserable return from Charlotte, giving up a double to Byron Buxton (which was a single in spirit, but Nicky Lopez's diving attempt slowed down its journey to center), an RBI single to Brooks Lee, and two batters later, a lashed Matt Wallner homer to right field. It left the bat at 116.7 mph and had just enough launch angle to clear the right-field wall for a game-tying homer.
Adding insult to injury, Leasure stayed in long enough to give up a second homer, a two-out solo shot to Carlos Correa, that put the White Sox behind 6-5.
The White Sox were able to get that run back in the eighth when Robert led off with a walk. Jiménez didn't give him a chance to steal, popping out to first base on the first pitch, but Robert was able to steal second during DeJong's strikeout, take third on a wild pitch, and score when Lopez flared another weak single over the head of a drawn-in Lee at third.
But that only prolonged the heartbreak. The only heartening thing is that neither John Brebbia nor Kopech were involved. Brebbia pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve his status as the most legitimate high-leverage option left, and Kopech stranded the Zombie Runner at second in the 10th with a 1-2-3 inning on 10 pitches. It had the characteristic lack of command, but he threw two cutters and two sliders, and that was enough to jam the Twins' signals and get the game to the 11th.
Alas, Vaughn struck out to open the 10th, which meant the Sox couldn't productive-out their way to victory. Robert grounded out, and DeJong popped out. Jared Shuster took over for Kopech in the 11th and gave up a pair of singles and a too-soft groundout for two Minnesota runs, and again, the Sox lacked an answer.
Lost in the later-innings mess was a nice start by Chris Flexen. He threw six innings of two-run ball, and he probably shouldn't even suffered that much damage, as the Twins scored both those runs after bases-clearing double plays. Trevor Larnach hit a solo shot before the close of the first, and Max Kepler and Buxton strung together doubles in the fourth that put the Twins up 2-1.
At least the White Sox were able to give Chris Paddack a taste of that medicine. After Julks grounded into a double play in the third inning, Martín Maldonado(!) took an 0-2(!!) changeup out to center field for his third homer of the year, tying the game at 1. Julks came through a couple innings later with two outs, scoring Lopez all the way from first on a double to knot the game at 2.
Bullet points:
*Lenyn Sosa batted leadoff after Tommy Pham was a late scratch, and his hitting streak ended at eight games after an 0-for-5 night.
*Lopez went 2-for-3 with a walk, and scored the one time he reached base via out. Maldonado got plunked on elbow armor in his other plate appearance before Korey Lee replaced him as a pinch runner.
*Gavin Sheets cut down Willi Castro on an attempt to stretch a single into a double with two outs in the fifth.
*The White Sox defense turned three double plays, including a 1-4-3 and a 3-6-3. Lopez also made a leaping catch to rob Brooks Lee of a single and Luis Robert Jr. made a leaping catch at the wall to bring the miserable seventh to an end, so the defense was actually decent. Again, they picked the perfect game for it not to count.
