White Sox 3, Twins 6: Buxton and Larnach's Blasts Save Twins from Loss

[Sherry Cerny]

Like the emotions of the fans, this game was up and down for three hours, but Trevor Larnach and Byron Buxton's grind shone through. Their big hits solidified the win.

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: David Festa 4.0 P, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 5K (84 pitches, 52 strikes (64%))
Home Runs:  Trevor Larnach (3), Byron Buxton (5)
Top 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (.389); Ryan Jeffers (.176); Ty France (.148)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

In David Festa's third start of the season, he worked a fairly uneventful first inning, allowing one baserunner but promptly picking him off to end the frame. Festa's bat-missing ability and sheer stuff at the back end of an injury-weakened Twins rotation has been a balm for the last two-plus weeks.

The Twins faced pitcher Bryse Wilson, who had a few issues getting ahead in the count. Edouard Julien,  Luke Keaschall and Trevor Larnach combined to load the bases with only one out. All three players were stranded, though, as another Correa line drive landed in a defender's glove for a double play to end the inning. It seems like even when Correa does something right, this year, it goes wrong.

The White Sox threatened in the top of the second, with two outs, After a leadoff walk to Chicago rookie Edgar Quero, Miguel Vargas hit a two-out single to center field that sent Quero to third. On a pop-up near the Twins' dugout, though, Ty France made a fine catch to retire Brooks Baldwin and thwart the rally.

The bottom of the second was a maddening remix of the bottom of the first: flyout, double, flyout, hit batter, walk, all to bring up Byron Buxton with the bases loaded again. Alas, Buxton was called out on strikes, and another chance went by the boards. The Twins would leave 13 runners on base for the game.

Finally, in the third, the team managed to dent the scoreboard. Another Correa double play almost killed a promising rally, but an opposite-field single from Ty France brought home Luke Keaschall with the first run of the game. Meanwhile, Festa seemed to settle in, striking out three and allowing just two hits in the third and fourth, combined.

Julien started the fourth with his fifth double of the season, battling lefty Brandon Eisert. Buxton struck out, but Keaschall advanced Julien to third and Larnach brought him home with a single to center. Both lefties came in and made magic happen against a left-handed pitcher.

In the fifth, however, Festa hit a wall. He walked the eight-hitter and got entangled in a 10-pitch battle with pinch-hitter Bobby Dalbec, who eventually won that confrontation with a single. Suddenly, his pitch count was elevated, the Twins' lead was imperiled, and Rocco Baldelli went to his bullpen—only to find whatever the opposite of relief is.

In the hands of Cole Sands, the inning absolutely unraveled for the Twins. Sands walked Joshua Palacios, then uncorked a wild pitch that scored Baldwin and moved Dalbec to third. A Texas Leaguer from frustrated would-be Tuesday hero Andrew Benintendi found the grass in front of Buxton, bringing home the tying run. One batter later, a Keaschall error allowed Palacios to score, and by the time the Twins stopped the bleeding, they were behind 3-2.

Thankfully, Twins hitters don’t seem to give up easily. The bottom of the fifth was an instant answer, and the White Sox started to fall apart. France walked, Jeffers smacked a single to advance France, and a single by Brooks Lee scored France, with no outs and runners on first and second. The game was tied 3-3, The following inning, Larnach aimed a 9-iron well and gave the home team a 4-3 advantage.

Griffin Jax came out to the seventh, looking more confident after his stellar outing Tuesday night. Jax cruised through the frame, with two punchouts. He seems to be back on track.

The Twins got some much-needed insurance runs in the seventh. Harrison Bader walked, and with two outs, Buxton banged out a 414-foot, two-run homer for a 6-3 lead.

Keaschall continued to terrorize the White Sox pitching staff on the bases. After a plunking put him on base, the Sox had the audacity to attempt back-to-back pickoffs against him. With their disengagements used up, Keaschall was off on the next pitch, for his fifth steal in as many tries—and as many big-league games.

What’s Next? 
The Twins finish out the series at home with a day game. Chris Paddack (0-2; 7.27 ERA) will be taking the mound against Shane Smith (0-1; 2.82ERA) at 12:10 PM CST. 

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[JD-TWINS]

Keaschall - at least 1 hit in all 5 games played in the Show along with 5 stolen bases. Making things happen!!

Jeffers has had 2 really good offensive performances in past 3-4 games.

Larnach 2 consecutive games with HR’s - that’s good to see. Very due!

Julien keeps slowly improving in the box.

Even Lee contributed.

Buxton’s dinger gave some breathing room. Correa really looks rough ……. maybe when Lewis comes back he sits a couple games and Lee or Castro play short?

Building some momentum to be ready for more competitive clubs coming soon.

[knothole61]

1 minute ago, JD-TWINS said:

Keaschall - at least 1 hit in all 5 games played in the Show along with 5 stolen bases. Making things happen!!

Jeffers has had 2 really good offensive performances in past 3-4 games.

Larnach 2 consecutive games with HR’s - that’s good to see. Very due!

Julien keeps slowly improving in the box.

Even Lee contributed.

Buxton’s dinger gave some breathing room. Correa really looks rough ……. maybe when Lewis comes back he sits a couple games and Lee or Castro play short?

Building some momentum to be ready for more competitive clubs coming soon.

I might move C-4 down to 8th in the order to start. He will have one or two limited hot streaks this summer, but will mostly remain unproductive at the plate, I fear.

Regarding Keaschall--I love the kid: Intensity at the plate, stolen bases, shrugs off a fastball hit on his hand, and he's sporting the Roy Hobbs, Wonderboy, lightning bolt motif.  

[T.O.]

55 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Correa really looks rough ……. maybe when Lewis comes back he sits a couple games and Lee or Castro play short?

 

I would have him sit out for a week, have him kept his mouth, and think about not being a "leader", being a team player instead.

[TwinsChupacabra]

If only they could play the worst team in baseball every game...

[Mark G]

2 hours ago, TwinsChupacabra said:

If only they could play the worst team in baseball every game...

I can picture in my mind 10 other managers in the AL asking the question "why can't I play the White Sox 13 times a year?"  😉

[UK Twin]

Keaschall has been the spark the Twins have been missing. Could be a dark horse ROY candidate. 

Need to complete the sweep - no excuses!

[Doctor Wu]

The Twins (okay, mainly Keaschall) showing speed on the base paths! What a welcome development!

[William K Johnson]

Hate to play devil's advocate, but the White Sox are terrible, has Cole Sands ever left an inherited runner on base, Keaschall's error at second looked awful and Bader is showing some regression.   Outside of that, good win.

[Fatbat]

19 minutes ago, UK Twin said:

Keaschall has been the spark the Twins have been missing. Could be a dark horse ROY candidate. 

Need to complete the sweep - no excuses!

If LK keeps hitting and swiping bags. He wont be a dark horse ROY. He will simply run away with the award. 🐎 

[Peter]

Tough wins but a win is a win even if it’s against the white Sox!!! Need to get sweep today! Buxton has been awesome this series!!!  LK has given twins spark!!! Once twins are full health they will get back on track and get over .500 back in division race!

[TwinsDr2021]

Is it time to put Festa in the pen? He looks like an ace for 4 innings and then things fall apart. It also seems unfair not to mention the horrible play by LK (It didn't cost any extra runs but man it was Julienist (SP?) and I would have left Topa in for another inning.

The umpire was so bad for both teams it was ridiculousness!

On the good things Julien and Laranch got extra base hits off a lefty, LK doesn't look over matched at the plate and love the stealing (Maybe Rocco is saying to the FO give me some guys that can do it and I will manager that way) The bullpen did a good job, 5 innings 1 run, sure Sands let a couple guys score in the 5th but then don't leave two guys on with no outs.

 

Finish the sweep today and take 2 of 3 from LAA.

[JDubs]

7 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Is it time to put Festa in the pen? He looks like an ace for 4 innings and then things fall apart.

No, not even in the slightest. Dude has 77 major league innings. Let's give him a little runway before declaring him done.

[Patzky]

4 hours ago, Mark G said:

I can picture in my mind 10 other managers in the AL asking the question "why can't I play the White Sox 13 times a year?"  😉

You need to 'make' the other team be the White Sox. That's called winning.

[Patzky]

45 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

Hate to play devil's advocate, but the White Sox are terrible, has Cole Sands ever left an inherited runner on base, Keaschall's error at second looked awful and Bader is showing some regression.   Outside of that, good win.

When (ever) Wallner comes back Bader can be a defensive replacement.

[jmlease1]

Not enough hitting with runners on base from the Twins last night, should have been a laugher instead of tense. Wish Festa had been able to at least get through 5.

Like Keaschall's aggression on the bases. He's not the fastest guy, but he's fast enough, gets good reads, and isn't afraid to get a good lead. (and he's quick enough to get back) Fun seeing him swipe bags, even if it hasn't always been impactful.

Rough game for Correa. He is a mess at the plate right now, and I suspect he'd be looking at an IL stint if we had more guys available on the left side of the INF. Hope Willi gets back soon.

Let's hope they keep it up on getaway day and can build some momentum. They dug themselves a big hole to start the season, this is a great stretch to get out of it.

[Mark G]

3 minutes ago, Patzky said:

You need to 'make' the other team be the White Sox. That's called winning.

I definitely get your point, but why is it that the only team, at least in a while, we have been able to 'make' be the White Sox has been the White Sox?  🥴

[Mark G]

2 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Not enough hitting with runners on base from the Twins last night, should have been a laugher instead of tense. Wish Festa had been able to at least get through 5.

Like Keaschall's aggression on the bases. He's not the fastest guy, but he's fast enough, gets good reads, and isn't afraid to get a good lead. (and he's quick enough to get back) Fun seeing him swipe bags, even if it hasn't always been impactful.

Rough game for Correa. He is a mess at the plate right now, and I suspect he'd be looking at an IL stint if we had more guys available on the left side of the INF. Hope Willi gets back soon.

Let's hope they keep it up on getaway day and can build some momentum. They dug themselves a big hole to start the season, this is a great stretch to get out of it.

First point is definitely true; with 6 walks and 2 hit batters in 8 innings we should have been able to do a little bit more.

[JD-TWINS]

54 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

Hate to play devil's advocate, but the White Sox are terrible, has Cole Sands ever left an inherited runner on base, Keaschall's error at second looked awful and Bader is showing some regression.   Outside of that, good win.

Agreed - Sands isn’t bad though…….2 guys on & no outs……..better to hold them to 2 instead of the 3, for sure.

Bader is doing what he does against RH pitching. Really don’t get him not BUNTING 2 different times against RH pitching with no outs and guys on base……seems to be a strategic error!

[mikelink45]

This is the last place world series and we are serious - 6 pitchers in a 9 inning game - try to keep that going.  Love what Keaschall has contributed and hope it keeps going.   But to have all those base runners stranded in the first few inning is not a good sign.

[JD-TWINS]

17 minutes ago, JDubs said:

No, not even in the slightest. Dude has 77 major league innings. Let's give him a little runway before declaring him done.

He’s not “done” but I think he’ll get displaced today when Lopez comes back………might be nice to move Festa to a 2-3 inning guy from the PEN …….potentially wasting innings of good production in AAA……doubtful, but maybe worth a shot?

[Whitey333]

Just a couple of notes:

Twins won 6-3

The White Sox are an awful team

The home plate umpire was awful.  We shouldn't be surprised.  It was Laz Diaz who's been awful for years. 

We hope the game doesn't get rained out Thursday.  We are playing the White Soz.  It'd guaranteed win day.

We need to.get MLB to let Twins play the White Sox at least 10 games each month.

The Twins are a bad baseball team.  Thank you White Sox for helping us cover up the Twins weaknesses.

 

 

 

[BrokenCompass]

Half of the Twins wins this season have come against this historically bad White Sox team. And even these games aren't easy. 

Keaschall and Royce Lewis would be nice to see together in the infield for a full season. 

I don't think this series has changed any of our minds about how lifeless and overmatched this Twins team has been this season. We'll absolutely take these wins...nothing less than a sweep will be acceptable here. 

Angels coming in tomorrow hovering around .500 look very much like the better team. Twins need to take that series to keep any hope of a successful season alive. 

[Doctor Wu]

1 hour ago, William K Johnson said:

Hate to play devil's advocate, but the White Sox are terrible, has Cole Sands ever left an inherited runner on base, Keaschall's error at second looked awful and Bader is showing some regression.   Outside of that, good win.

Yeah, we perhaps need to put these wins against the White Sox in perspective. But still, it's fun to see a bit of energy and production for a change. 

[Doctor Wu]

4 minutes ago, BrokenCompass said:

Half of the Twins wins this season have come against this historically bad White Sox team. And even these games aren't easy. 

Keaschall and Royce Lewis would be nice to see together in the infield for a full season. 

I don't think this series has changed any of our minds about how lifeless and overmatched this Twins team has been this season. We'll absolutely take these wins...nothing less than a sweep will be acceptable here. 

Angels coming in tomorrow hovering around .500 look very much like the better team. Twins need to take that series to keep any hope of a successful season alive. 

The Angels look like a much better team this season. Can't take them lightly whatsoever. 

[rdehring]

Out of town and haven't seen any games Keaschall has played.  But don't recall him being a base stealing threat while in the minors.  Was he?  Is he fast or just really good at doing the little things at stealing?  Or are the Sox and/or their pitchers awful?

Anyhow, sure is exciting seeing what he is doing to energize the team.  Can he do the same for the fan base?  Maybe if Royce returns in the next few weeks and is the Royce we came to love the duo can turn this team around.

[JD-TWINS]

Gotta think Wallner & Lewis are back by the end of next week - right?

Who goes down?

Kiersey obviously ……. Lee as well or does Bride get DFA’d? Correa to IL for wrist?

2 Catchers-Wallner-Bader-Buxton-Larnach-Castro

CC - Lewis - Keaschall - France - Julien-(13th guy?)

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

1 hour ago, Fatbat said:

If LK keeps hitting and swiping bags. He wont be a dark horse ROY. He will simply run away with the award. 🐎 

Too bad the Twins didn't call him up a week or two early if he does.  Currently he will not qualify for an extra draft pick.  

[Jeff K]

Twins also need to be thinking about McCusker.

[stringer bell]

When Keaschall scored on a short fly ball in Atlanta, the graphic said his sprint speed on that play was 29.0 (Buxton is 29.5), that is in the elite range. I think his sprint speed on his last SB was measured at 27.9, which is above average, but not elite. He's fast and aggressive, but I don't think he's otherworldly.

LK had a bad day in the field last night. I guess I'm more concerned about the one-hopper from behind second than the whiff when the base runner obscured his view, but both plays were pretty bad. 

I like Lee at third base, but when Lewis returns somebody will be displaced. The fastest way to improve the Twins infield is for Correa to start hitting like he did last year.