The box score shows that tonight's loss -- the White Sox's 18th consecutive one -- got away from them on Steven Wilson's watch. The Twins only led 4-2 when he entered the game, but they expanded that lead to 8-2 by the time Pedro Grifol came out to take the ball. Prelander Berroa replaced him and gave up another two-run homer to Byron Buxton, and that's how the Sox gave up 10 runs for the fourth time in the last nine games.
It was a familiar inning, but with a hint of something else. It started when Andrew Benintendi flagged down Carlos Santana's fly to deep left field with one out and one on, and didn't expect Austin Martin to tag up to second. Runners have been taking advantage of Benintendi's arm all year, and Benintendi even thwarted one of the more brazen attempts earlier in the game, as Jose Miranda couldn't even bother bringing himself to slide after trying to stretch a single into a double leading off the fourth.
Martin is faster, and he got that 90 feet while Benintendi dawdled and John Schriffen jumped into a promo.
112 games into the season, and still neither Benintendi nor Schriffen expect other teams to test Benintendi's arm at every opportunity. pic.twitter.com/KCPKF8QOHG
— Jim Margalus (@SoxMachine) August 3, 2024
That 90 feet opened first base, and after Miranda popped out, Grifol called for Wilson to intentionally walk Brooks Lee after a 2-0 count. It almost worked when Christian Vázquez lofted a fly ball to deepish left center, but it was just far enough for Benintendi to lose confidence in his closing ability, and Luis Robert Jr. to never get there, either.
Willi Castro followed with a two-run shot, Wilson walked Trevor Larnach on four pitches, and Grifol came out to pull Wilson from the game despite all this action happening on just 17 pitches. Wilson was not pleased.
Steven Wilson didn't wait for a reassuring word from Grifol. pic.twitter.com/nulu6yf1Kk
— Jim Margalus (@SoxMachine) August 3, 2024
That sequence put the 2024 razzle-dazzle on what would've otherwise been another humdrum defeat. The White Sox offense was limited to Miguel Vargas' first homer with the team in the third inning, two singles and three walks over nine innings. Korey Lee grounded into a double play after Dominic Fletcher's leadoff single in the fifth inning, and Joe Ryan and three Minnesota relievers combined to retire 13 of the last 14, with Benintendi's one-out walk in the seventh inning the lone holdout.
Davis Martin labored in his return to the rotation, and paid the tab both times Royce Lewis came to the plate. In the first, he issued the first of Larnach's two four-pitch walks, then rolled a full-count slider on the inner half to Lewis, who crushed a no-doubter to left for a quick 2-0 lead.
Two innings later, Larnach muscled a single to center with one out, took second on a wild pitch, and the open base was backfilled by a walk to Byron Buxton. He started Lewis with a first-pitch fastball, and Martin didn't get an opportunity to throw a second pitch. He smoked a line drive past Robert right of center, and both runners scored without the relay throw coming home.
Martin allowed six hits and three walks over 3⅔ innings, so his line could've been worse. It was spared in the fourth by Miranda's failed attempt to exploit Benintendi, followed by a walk and another hit before Justin Anderson relieved Martin and stranded both runners.
Bullet points:
*Vargas' homer satisfied. He fended off a 2-2 fastball, took one off the plate to load the count, and then took advantage when Ryan left a four-seamer just above the knees. He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
*Benintendi had the makings of a decent defensive game before the eighth. Along with cutting down Miranda, he made a long running catch in the left-field corner to take away an RBI double from Vázquez in the second. Alas.
