The White Sox made quick work of the Twins on a night that turned into a three-homer showcase for Zebby Matthews, and Chicago walked away with a 4-1 win.
Matthews had kept the ball in the park over his previous two starts, but that run ended here. Miguel Vargas opened the damage in the first with a homer on a low pitch, then Matthews was tagged again in the second on a pitch left over the plate. He settled in after that, but the White Sox had already built enough separation to control the game.
The Twins’ offense never found much rhythm against Erick Fedde. In the third, after at least showing some life early, Minnesota went down on eight pitches.
The fourth brought a brief threat when Josh Bell walked and Brooks Lee sent a soft hit into the outfield, moving Bell to third, but the inning ended without a run. Chicago then extended the lead when Andrew Benintendi led off the fourth with a walk and followed with a long home run to make it 4-0.
Minnesota kept coming up empty in the middle innings. The fifth was another clean frame for Fedde, and by then the Twins were running out of time to change the feel of the game.
Hagen Smith entered for Chicago in the sixth and allowed a leadoff single to Kody Clemens, but the inning ended on a double play. Taylor Rogers later walked a hitter who didn’t score.
The Twins finally got a little something going in the seventh when Brooks Lee reached with a two-out single and stole second, but that chance evaporated when Big Jenkins struck out. Garrett Acton then came on for Chicago and shut things down.
Bryan Hudson handled the eighth for the White Sox, with Clemens adding another single but nothing more coming from it. Acton, who had previously been with the Rays, worked a quick ninth for Chicago.
Bell provided Minnesota’s only run in the ninth, launching a home run to bring some late life to the box score, but a flyout ended it there.
The loss dropped the Twins to 3.5 games out of the wild-card spot, with the outcome of the tied Guardians-Tigers game still to be determined. There are four teams ahead of them.
Tomorrow’s game is set for 6:10, with Taj Bradley going for one side against left-hander Robbie Ray.
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Joe Ryans Return Wont Mean Much Unless One Thing Follows
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The timetable now points toward a possible return against the Tigers as early as Monday, which would give Minnesota a needed rotation boost at a key point in the season. Still, the bigger question is not simply when Ryan takes the ball again, but whether the next step follows the one the Twins need most, because a clean return to the mound only matters if it opens the door to the kind of consistency they were counting on before the injury. [Read more 🡒]