The Minnesota Twins scratched across a run late in Monday's game to top the Chicago White Sox 3-2 and snap their three-game winning streak. The pitching staff on both sides had stellar evenings, and despite eight hits, the White Sox couldn’t produce the tie-breaking rally. The game remained tied at two from the third inning until the ninth when the Twins broke through.
The Sox' loss deflated the momentum of their last series, a sweep against the Tampa Bay Rays. Chicago managed to defeat the Rays on Sunday 4-2 with some timely hitting, which never arrived in Monday’s loss. Minnesota’s pitching limited the White Sox to few scoring opportunities, holding them to only two hits after the fourth inning.
With the bases loaded and one out in the first inning, Eloy Jimenez stepped to the plate with the White Sox leading 1-0. Nicky Lopez led off with a base hit to center and scored on Andrew Vaughn’s double. Jimenez added to the lead but did so by grounding into a double play.
Pitcher’s Delight
Garrett Crochet tossed five innings for the White Sox and allowed only two runs on two hits and a walk in his outing. The only blemish was a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the third by Carlos Santana. Crochet retired the last 11 hitters he faced, struck out seven, and threw 77 pitches. Brad Keller relieved him in the sixth.
“I felt like it took me a minute to get going,” Crochet said. “I felt like giving up the homer kind of flipped the switch for me. And then I felt like I was kind of on autopilot for the rest of the game.”
Keller, Tim Hill, and Michael Kopech kept the Twins off the board until the ninth. John Brebbia surrendered a leadoff double to Byron Buxton, who scored on Max Keplar’s base hit in the following at-bat.
The South Siders put runners on the corners in the ninth, but Korey Lee struck out to end the game.
News And Notes
Brad Keller made his White Sox debut and pitched 1.2 innings. He allowed no hits and no runs, issued two free passes, and struck out two.
Minnesota extended its winning streak to eight games, five of which have come against the White Sox.
What’s On Tap Next?
Michael Soroka will take the mound for the White Sox on Tuesday night against Simeon Woods Richardson. The two starters faced each other in last week's four-game series finale in Minnesota. First pitch is at 6:40 PM CT and the game will air on NBC Sports Chicago.
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