Colson Montgomery kept the White Sox rolling in the AL Central race Friday night, launching his 28th homer and helping Chicago beat the Twins 7-4 in Minneapolis.
Montgomery’s three-run shot in the first inning set the tone early, and Chicago never really let Minnesota settle in. The White Sox jumped on starter Dean Kremer right away, building a 4-0 lead before the Twins answered with power of their own.
Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens both went deep in the bottom of the first, and Lee added an RBI single in the second to pull Minnesota even at 4. But Chicago responded in the third, when Andrew Benintendi doubled in the go-ahead runs to put the White Sox back in front for good.
Benintendi finished with two RBIs, and Chicago’s offense did enough damage against a pair of starters who couldn’t get deep into the night. Luis Castillo lasted four innings for the White Sox and gave up four runs on eight hits, while Kremer was tagged for six runs, five earned, over four innings.
The bullpen belonged to Chicago after that. Grant Taylor worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, and Bryan Hudson closed it out in the ninth for his sixth save.
Tristan Peters saw his five-game home run streak come to an end, though the White Sox center fielder still reached safely with a single in four at-bats. That streak had matched a franchise record.
For Minnesota, the loss was another tough step in a stretch that has gone badly since the trade deadline. The Twins are now 8-14 since then and sit four games behind the final American League wild-card spot, with four clubs in front of them.
The night also brought a debut for one of the organization’s most talked-about young players. Top prospect Walker Jenkins made his major league debut, batting ninth and starting in center field. He drew a strong ovation from the home crowd after his first trip to the plate ended with a deep flyout to the warning track, then picked up his first big-league hit in the fourth with a single to right.
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Joe Ryans possible return only adds to the pressure on Minnesotas pitching mix. If the rotation gets crowded, the Twins may have to decide whether Prielipp is better served by a move to the bullpen or a trip to Triple-A St. Paul for a reset and more development time before the season winds down. For a pitcher who has shown enough to keep the conversation alive, the question now is less about whether the Twins believe in him and more about where that belief best fits in the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]