Chicago White Sox: Potentially a statement win over Twins

Dylan Cease got another start for the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. He battled early in the game but he still turned in a performance that showed that he truly has some magnificent stuff. The offense had his back after one bad inning which is exactly what he deserves for the way he has pitched so far this season. He gave the White Sox a chance to win and they did. A no-decision was handed to him but his impact was felt nonetheless.

The Chicago White Sox earned a statement win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

When they were down 3-0, Yasmani Grandal came to the plate with two runners on base. He has taken some heat lately for his abysmal batting average and elite on-base percentage. Well, he quieted some of the haters with his big home run that tied the game at three. It was one of his more clutch moments as a member of the White Sox.

Tied at three, Dylan Cease kept them in it. Jose Abreu eventually broke the tie with a huge two-run shot that put them ahead 5-3. That would be all they need but they tacked on four more to win the ballgame 9-3. That is about as much of a statement win as they have had so far this season.

Now, they are 20-13 but there is still so much baseball left to play. Nobody is crowning anyone yet. However, the Minnesota Twins have been the hammer to the White Sox’s nail for decades. No matter where Minnesota sits in the standings, the White Sox need to beat them to be feeling good about their game. This is going to be a very long and very hard-fought season series between the two rivals.

The White Sox bullpen came to play in this one. Dylan Cease went his five innings but he still needed four to be covered. Matt Foster, Garrett Crochet, Codi Heuer, Aaron Bummer, and Jose Ruiz did the job to help win the ballgame.

One player of note from that group is Garrett Crochet. He pitched for the first time in 16 days with an IL stint in there. His velocity was way down before the injured list which was a bit of a concern. He was pumping 98 miles per hour while mixing in some nasty breaking balls. This kid has a chance to be a superweapon turned starter like his friend Michael Kopech is in the process of doing. It is really fun to watch this guy on the mound.

When the White Sox play in these tough games, it is never going to be easy. The Twins play them hard and it showed. The pitching had to work out of jams at times but they always did. It just has the feeling of a team destined to do great things over the next few years. They are young so some of those correctable mistakes still happen and will for a while but they work so hard. This was the type of game that sends a message to the rest of the league.

There are still two more big games against them today and tomorrow. They have a lefty on the opposing mound in J.A. Happ so it should be interesting to see if they can clobber him the way they do other lefties recently. Dallas Keuchel will be on the mound for the White Sox as they look to show off more against this pesky Twins team.