The Chicago White Sox stole a game from the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.
Heading into the ninth inning, the White Sox had just three hits in the entire game. Zebby Matthews had made one mistake, allowing a home run to catcher Edgar Quero, but was otherwise brilliant over six innings of work.
The White Sox came up to bat in the ninth inning trailing 3-1. A two-out single by Brooks Baldwin made it a one-run game, and a clutch two-run double from Michael A. Taylor put the Sox on top 4-3.
That ended up being the final score, as the White Sox won their fifth consecutive game against the Twins.
Shockingly, the White Sox entered Wednesday night having lost 205 consecutive games when trailing after eight innings. Finally, the streak was snapped.
The White Sox had lost 205 games without a ninth inning comeback
Prior to Wednesday, the most recent occurrence of a White Sox comeback win after trailing through eight innings was on August 6, 2023, when they rallied against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
Elvis Andrus delivered the game‑winning hit with two outs in the ninth inning of that game, erasing a one‑run deficit. That game was the last time before Wednesday night that the White Sox had a late comeback, and actually finished it off with a win.
Part of being a young team emerging from a rebuild is learning how to win. As evidenced by their 12-30 record in one-run games, the White Sox are still figuring that out.
With a struggling bullpen and young hitters that need to refine their situational approaches, it can be expected that the White Sox will fall short in close games. This team has been fun, but they haven't been good with runners in scoring position or in high-leverage relief situations. Those are the moments that help a team create magical comeback victories.
That being said, it's undeniable that the White Sox are playing with effort and never quit on themselves. This is clearly a team that is coached well by manager Will Venable and has a great clubhouse atmosphere. They show up to the ballpark everyday excited to play baseball and leave it all between the lines for their teammates.
This culture shift will lead to more comeback wins before long, and a more competitive team in general. The White Sox have already taken a big step forward in 2025 and games like we saw on Wednesday night are going to become more of a regularity in the near future.