White Sox 3, Twins 1 (Game One): Winning Streak Against Sox Snapped

[Theodore Tollefson]

After a rainout on Tuesday, the Twins played two on Wednesday. The first game featured a match-up between Bailey Ober and Erick Fedde. Which team would see the benefits from an unexpected off day as they kicked off game one of the doubleheader? 

Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (84 pitches, 58 strikes (69% strikes))
Home Runs: Matt Wallner (3) 
Top 3 WPA: Carlos Correa .094, Matt Wallner .070, Cole Sands .039
Bottom 3 WPA: Carlos Santana -.162, Brooks Lee -.109, Jose Miranda -.106

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Not Cashing In Early 
It didn’t take long for the Twins to get Erick Fedde shaking in his cleats. Willi Castro had a patient at-bat to get the game started, drawing a walk, which was followed up with a single from Carlos Correa and another walk from Trevor Larnach. Three batters in, the Twins already had the bases loaded, but would they be able to cash a single run in?

Unfortunately, they didn’t. José Miranda flew out to center field, but not deep enough to score Castro. Then Carlos Santana struck out, and Brooks Lee swung at the first pitch in his at-bat, with a weakly-hit ball that landed in White Sox shortstop Nicky Lopez’s glove for a force out to second base.

The first inning was the Twins' best chance to get a run against Fedde over the next four innings. The offense combined to go 3-for-15 from the second onto the fifth inning and even with a couple of singles from Correa and Wallner, no one could advance them beyond first base. 

Ober Carries His Weight 
The Twins offense may have been lagging, but Ober certainly did his part to keep his team in the game. Ober cruised through the first four innings allowing only one base runner on a walk to Tommy Pham in the first and striking out four all on 46 pitches.

Ober faced his first hiccup in the bottom of the fifth. He allowed a lead-off double to Gavin Sheets which was followed up with an Eloy Jiménez single that advanced Sheets to third. Ober then had a 10-pitch battle against Lenyn Sosa that ended in a strikeout. He faced Paul DeJong next who worked out a sacrifice fly to get the White Sox on the board 1-0. Ober would escape the inning getting Lopez for a ground out to first base.

Ober had thrown 24 pitches in the fifth which brought his total to 70 on the afternoon. He would need a quick inning to remain in the game for the seventh and give the bullpen some alleviation and more options if needed for game two. 

The good news was Ober had a quicker inning throwing 14 pitches. The bad news is what happened with two outs. He surrendered a double to Andrew Vaughn, then one pitch later a home run to Luis Robert Jr. which put the White Sox up 3-0. Ober would only need to throw three more pitches to get out of the inning, but the damage had been done. 

Ober still finished the day with a quality start, but it was done after the Sox chipped away at him in the fifth and sixth innings. This was also Ober’s fifth consecutive start dating back to June 16 against the Athletics at Target Field. 

Wallner’s Reawaking Sparks Lineup
The lineup had remained cold since the first inning but finally had a spark from Wallner in the top of the seventh as he drilled the first pitch he saw for a solo home run to make it a 3-1 game. The exit velocity from this home run was not as hard hit as his Monday night homer, only going 101.1 MPH into the right-center field bleachers. 
 

In the very small sample size of Wallner’s return to the Twins, he’s 5-for-9 with two homers and three runs batted in. 
Unfortunately, Wallner’s homer would be the Twins' only run of the game as they dropped their first loss to the White Sox this season. The Twins were 8-0 going into today’s game, but couldn’t cash in on their best opportunity in the top of the first. 

To pour more salt in the wound, the White Sox Michael Kopech finished the game not only with the save but an immaculate inning to secure the Sox first victory against their Central Divison foes. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins pick things up in the next half hour for game two of the doubleheader against the White Sox. Pablo Lopez will go up against rookie Drew Thorpe for the series finale. The Twins do have an off-day Thursday in San Francisco ahead of their final series against the Giants before the All-Star Break. 

Postgame Interview 
Coming soon.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[Cory Engelhardt]

Future Twin Erik Fedde looked pretty solid today :)

[Patzky]

6 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Future Twin Erik Fedde looked pretty solid today :)

I really think he'd do great . And we wouldn't have to face him again.

[DJL44]

The rainout was pretty convenient timing for the Twins bullpen

[Peter]

Ugly loss-let’s win game 2!

[mikelink45]

Sorry to see this loss, but eventually even last place teams win in MLB.  However a double header sweep is not acceptable.

Just glad to have Wallner back.

[JD-TWINS]

Wallner is really doing a nice job through 4 games!! Hope he can keep the buzz going in SF this weekend.

[Doctor Gast]

Ober pitched very well until he petered out. Facing Fedde who has a good record while playing for the worst team in baseball, you'd think that they'd put out a better roster. With Vazquez catching, you'd think they'd put a better line-up to compensate. But no they put Margot (who can't hit RHPs) in CF (?), & Santana (who can't hit RHPs) high up in the order. No Buxton or Kepler & no Lee's glove.

With the top of the order doing well in the 1st, bases loaded with nobody out & accumulating Fedde pitch count to where CWS got the BP going. On the ropes ready to do serious damage, the middle of the order whimped out & let them off the hook, with nothing. Deflated the Twins couldn't recover & it gave Fedde & CWS a shot in the arm. This is another head-scratcher. every game is important.