White Sox: One out of four against the Minnesota Twins

The White Sox started the four-game series against the Minnesota Twins better than they ended it.

And, the same can be said for the Sunday afternoon White Sox game against the Twinkies.

As the four-game series came to a close, the White Sox can at least say they were competitive against the division rivals to the west.

The best game of the series

The highlight of the series was the first game where the Sox won on a walk-off home run by Trayce Thompson. His third home run of the season ended a three-inning stalemate between the two teams. Interestingly, despite the 5-6 score, there were very few hits in the game. The Twins and the White Sox combined for only 14 hits. Reynaldo Lopez had his worst start of the season as the Twins tallied four earned runs against him.

CHICAGO, IL – MAY 04: Yolmer Sanchez #5 of the Chicago White Sox bunts against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 4, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Twins defeated the White Sox 6-4. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Sanchez delivers offensively

In the second game of the series, the Sox lead for a half of an inning before the Twins tied it up in the top of the second. The Twins then took the lead in the third and kept it until the end. However, the Sox continued to fight earning nine hits and four runs in the 6-4 loss. Yolmer Sanchez had a night, scoring half of the runs and recording a third of the hits. Carson Fulmer just could not keep the Twins off of the bases and added another loss to his stats.

Anderson had a night

The third game on Saturday night was the worst of the bunch. The Twins took the lead in the first and maintained it all night. The final score was 8-4. Like the other three games, the starting pitching was to blame. Hector Santiago recorded his first loss as all eight runs were scored on his watch. However, Sanchez and Tim Anderson had good nights as they were responsible for scoring all four of the Sox runs.

Six no-hit innings

The big story of the Sunday afternoon game was James Shields. Through the first six innings, he did not give up any hits. Then, the seventh arrived. And, Shields did what he does, give up hits that were eventually converted into runs. After a walk and a few singles, the Twins got on the board and they added three runs to the score. This took care of the Sox two-run lead. In the bottom of the seventh, the Sox tied it up. But, a win wasn’t in the cards for the Sox. Bruce Rondon and Nate Jones each gave up one run to give the Twins what they needed to win.

Tightly packed in the AL Central

Even though the Sox did not take this series, it is interesting to note that the Twins only have four more wins that the Sox have. The Twins record is 13-17, while the Sox are holding at 9-23. In the AL Central, only the Cleveland Indians have a winning record. Everyone else is grouped tightly between the Twins in second and the Sox at the bottom.

Next: Eloy Jimenez shaking off the early-season rust

The Sox get the day off, along with 13 other teams. On Tuesday, they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates who are 19-16 on the season. Lucas Giolito is expected to take the mound against Ivan Nova.

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