Twins 3, White Sox 7: Clemens, Lewis, Wallner Home Runs Not Enough to Top the Sox

[Sherry Cerny]

Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Mick Abel 3IP, 7H, 6ER, 2BB, 2K (63 pitches, 42 strikes (65%))
Home Runs: Kody Clemens (14), Matt Wallner (17), Royce Lewis(8)
Bottom 3 WPA: Mick Abel (-.413); Byron Buxton (-.074); Matt Wallner (-.063)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Mick Abel made his Twins debut on Saturday in Chicago, just weeks after being acquired from the Phillies in the Jhoan Duran deal at the deadline. The 2020 first-round draft pick has spent most of his 2025 season in the minor leagues. He made six starts for Philadelphia with his MLB debut on May 18th.

The Twins started the game with a walk from Trevor Larnach and single from Luke Keaschall, before Matt Wallner hit into a double play to end the inning. 

Abel’s first inning with the Twins began with a routine pop-out, but the sun was wreaking havoc on any ball hit in the air in the outfield. Miguel Vargas hit a sun double. Colson Montgomery followed by hitting the ball back at Abel, hitting him in the thigh, and got another single. However, Abel responded well, by recording a double play which ended the inning. Abel only threw 11 pitches, avoided injury (thank goodness!) and kept the White Sox off the board. 

In the top of the second inning, a two-out solo home run by the-one-and-only Kody Clemens put the Twins on the board first. 

Abel’s second inning was a struggle. He got his second strike-out of the game but allowed three singles, the third was a Chase Meidroth single to center which drove in Andrew Benintendi and evened up the score 1-1. Runners were still on the corners with two outs after former Minnesota Twins outfielder Michael A. Taylor struck out. Abel got ahead of Kyle Teel walked him on seven pitches to load the bases. 

Abel’s biggest struggle was getting behind in the count, struggling to find the strike zone and racking up his pitch count with foul balls and walks. The second walk from Abel gave the White Sox the lead 2-1. Star rookie Colson Montgomery came up and launched a grand slam which pushed the lead 6-1. 

Davis Martin had the Twins hitters on the ropes the second inning, a three-up, three-down inning, got the defense back out and Abel joined them. Perhaps a redemption inning. 

Abel gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the third frame, but it led to no runs. Abel seemed to come out that inning with a little more command, and a lot more control. He got out of the game after a "confidence inning" and a handshake with manager Rocco Baldelli. 

Matt Wallner knocked a solo home run in the top of the fourth, to make it 6-2.

Thomas Hatch came out to the mound to replace Abel and was again very good. He began by tossing four shutout innings and needed just over 30 pitches to do that. He tired in the ninth and gave up a solo homer to Luis Robert, but that was the only run he allowed. He gave up just three hits, walked none and had five strikeouts. Most important, he allowed the Twins to get through the game with just two pitchers. With uncertainty (and youth and injury concerns, etc.) throughout the pitching staff, innings eaten are quite valuable. It was Hatch's second consecutive "team-saving" outing. 

The Twins put a little pressure on Martin top of the fifth. A leadoff single from Clemens got things started. Clemens took an aggressive lead on first, making Martin attempt to pick him off and divide his focus, resulting in hitting Outman with a pitch. Two runners on base, but nothing to show for it.

The White Sox brought in lefty Tyler Alexander into the game for the top of the sixth. He tossed a scoreless inning. Then with one out in the top of the seventh, he gave up a solo home run to Royce Lewis to cut the team's deficit to 6-3.

What are your thoughts on Thomas Hatch? He has had a couple of solid outings of late. Who do you think have been the best waiver claims by the Twins in 2025? 

The Twins couldn't come back in the last inning, falling 7-3, but have a chance to claim the series with a win on Sunday. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins finish out the series with the White Sox before heading into Canada to take on the Blue Jays. The Twins will avoid Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, and Shane Bieber, but they will face Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, and Eric Lauer Monday through Wednesday. 

But first, the Twins will finish out this series with the White Sox on the south side of Chicago. The Twins will try to figure out Yoendrys Gomez starting at noon central time on Sunday, The Twins haven't announced their Sunday starter yet, at least not officially. However, we know that Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods Richardson are with the Twins in Chicago. We could see one or both of them.  

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

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[thelanges5]

That offense though. 

24th in OPS w/RISP

Top 10 in GIDP

[Hashim]

Abel was bad.   Well run organizations get blue chip talents back for their trades and we get Mick Abel. What an awful organization and owners. 

[Parfigliano]

28 minutes ago, Hashim said:

Abel was crap 💩. Well run organizations get blue chip talents back for their trades and we get Mick Abel. What an awful organization and owners. 

You're correct the organization and owners are awful.

[S Bart]

The Twins have the 6th lowest home attendance for the 2025 season. Actually, the Athletics and Rays should not count due to playing in minor league stadiums with limited seating. So, the Twins are In 4th place. My guess is that season ticket sales for 2026  will be dismal. 

[RaoulDuke]

Abel gave me suped up Festa vibes tonight.  The stuff looks good, it has velocity, it has good break, but he doesn't command it enough to weaponize it.  Rough start but I am excited to see what he can do when he is on and eventually when he grows.

Hatch is a pen piece for next year.

 

 

 

[knothole61]

9 minutes ago, RaoulDuke said:

Abel gave me suped up Festa vibes tonight.  The stuff looks good, it has velocity, it has good break, but he doesn't command it enough to weaponize it.  Rough start but I am excited to see what he can do when he is on and eventually when he grows.

Hatch is a pen piece for next year.

 

 

 

Agree...but this was a real kick in the ass tonight!

[Western SD Fan]

Until other starters come back (Lopez, SWR, Festa), I would rather see games pitched by Abel instead of any more TBA's. No matter how good or bad Abel may be this year.  Abel is one of the prize players returned in which the FO immolated the team for so its important to see what we have so we know what he needs to improve on.  Until there is someone better that's not a TBA, Abel should stay in the rotation.  All us fans really have left as hope is that these trades work out. If moving forward means a bad outing or two, so be it.

[glunn]

3 hours ago, RaoulDuke said:

Abel gave me suped up Festa vibes tonight.  The stuff looks good, it has velocity, it has good break, but he doesn't command it enough to weaponize it.  Rough start but I am excited to see what he can do when he is on and eventually when he grows.

Hatch is a pen piece for next year.

 

 

 

I loved the velocity and the movement. If he can improve his command I think he can be a great pitcher. 

Maybe he had some yips. I hope he gets more starts.

[Doctor Wu]

6 hours ago, Western SD Fan said:

Until other starters come back (Lopez, SWR, Festa), I would rather see games pitched by Abel instead of any more TBA's. No matter how good or bad Abel may be this year.  Abel is one of the prize players returned in which the FO immolated the team for so its important to see what we have so we know what he needs to improve on.  Until there is someone better that's not a TBA, Abel should stay in the rotation.  All us fans really have left as hope is that these trades work out. If moving forward means a bad outing or two, so be it.

I agree with you and glunn; keep Abel in the rotation and give him regular starts the rest of this season. Like this game, he may take his lumps, but the talent seems to be there and we need to be patient and hope that he becomes more effective. As for Hatch, he's been a pleasant surprise thus far. An innings eater that doesn't give up many runs! I'll take it. 

[LewFordLives]

Abel had no idea where the ball was going once it left his hand.

[mikelink45]

Good comments. I am glad to see Abel and pleased with Hatch but still time before decisions.  Three solo HRs. We need runners on base and big hits when they are.  

Time for a prospect instead of Outman. 

[TNtwins85]

9 hours ago, Hashim said:

Abel was bad.   Well run organizations get blue chip talents back for their trades and we get Mick Abel. What an awful organization and owners. 

There’s clearly a difference between a young guy who clearly has the stuff, ability and missed spots while trying to harness his command and a guy who is just straight up bad. Has absolutely nothing to do with the organization as a whole. 

[TNtwins85]

7 hours ago, Western SD Fan said:

Until other starters come back (Lopez, SWR, Festa), I would rather see games pitched by Abel instead of any more TBA's. No matter how good or bad Abel may be this year.  Abel is one of the prize players returned in which the FO immolated the team for so its important to see what we have so we know what he needs to improve on.  Until there is someone better that's not a TBA, Abel should stay in the rotation.  All us fans really have left as hope is that these trades work out. If moving forward means a bad outing or two, so be it.

Yes! I’d rather see Abel struggle with his command and try to figure it out at the MLB level than him dominate AAA while watching a 30yo Urena struggle. The kid showed dominant stuff when it went where he wanted it to go. Exciting!

[Glorybound]

Nice to see Royce’s bat come to life. Abel showed both the potential and the risk of acquiring AAA talent. We will know a lot more by season’s end.

[Whitey333]

Abel was not good but this isn't unexpected.  Keep sending him out there and hope he shows progress.  Lopez, SWR, and Festa?  We'll no guarantees there.  SWR and Festa have at times done well and many times struggle.  Lopez in all likelihood will be traded before or during next season.  Hatch looks good so far. It's just auditioning the players for next season the rest of the way.  So why are we auditioning Mickey Gasper?  He definitely has shown he's not a major league player.

[USAFChief]

We got hosed on the Duran trade. 

Abel is a "prospect" primarily due to his high draft status. And that was the highly suspect 2020 draft.

He hasnt performed in his minor league career outside one season,. Career minor league 5.5 BB/9. Never thrown more than 111 innings in a season. Career ERA 4.28, RA/9 4.67. 10 games under .500 W/L.

We got hosed.

[terrydactyls]

Still tied for 6th.

P	Team	W	L	PCT	Eligible
1	Colorado Rockies	37	93	0.285	N0
2	Chicago White Sox	46	83	0.357
3	Washington Nationals	53	76	0.411	N0
4	Pittsburgh Pirates	56	74	0.431
5	Atlanta Braves	58	71	0.450
6	Minnesota Twins	59	70	0.457
7	Baltimore Orioles	59	70	0.457
8	Whatever Athletics	60	71	0.458
9	Miami Marlins	60	69	0.465
10	Los Angeles Angels	61	68	0.473
11	San Francisco Giants	62	68	0.477
12	Tampa Bay Rays	62	67	0.481
13	Arizona Diamondbacks	64	66	0.492
14	St. Louis Cardinals	64	66	0.492
15	Texas Rangers	65	66	0.496

[Swing Batter-Batter]

Abel was not able today but, given where the Twins are at, keep putting him out there for the remainder of the season.

[LambchoP]

Seems like we have the same problem with most of our young pitching prospects. Plenty of stuff and strikeout potential, but no command. Walking way too many hitters and racking up high pitch counts resulting in short starts. Twins need to figure out who can be a starter and who should be a reliever. I expect a lot of piggyback starts the rest of the year. Hatch has been a surprise. Let's see if he can keep it up. Outman and his 45 percent K rate is not a long term solution. Send him to AAA and give someone who has actually earned playing time a chance, like Fedko. Gasper should be nowhere near a major league roster either. 

[David Maro]

Game was over early so watched Dodgers Padres instead. Nice to be able to watch real baseball being played. The last 3 games the Padres have played they used numerous sac bunts and sac flies to score runs.

When you are losing by 6 runs getting excited like Corey P does about 3 solo homeruns is silly. They are now a can't watch team and glad the season is over. They can all make their golf reservations for October.

[Blyleven2011]

Abel and Bradley on the roster now , Bradley starts today is what I gather ...

DFA'd Ramirez and urena , 2 of our best pitchers , what is wrong with this organization  , 😂🤣  , just kidding  ...

Hatch has had good outings and if he continues he should have a spot on the roster coming out of spring training  .....

Waiting for that big homerun just is not happening  , why can't we get runners on base and someone find a way to be  clutch hitters , it pathetic  ...

[sweetmusicviola16]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

We got hosed on the Duran trade. 

Abel is a "prospect" primarily due to his high draft status. And that was the highly suspect 2020 draft.

He hasnt performed in his minor league career outside one season,. Career minor league 5.5 BB/9. Never thrown more than 111 innings in a season. Career ERA 4.28, RA/9 4.67. 10 games under .500 W/L.

We got hosed.

I'll be interested to see if Abel puts it together. I'm not concerned over one bad start. A history of control problems though? That's a concern. But since we have an FO who has a history of not getting the job done and is responsible for the team that is out there might as well watch a prospect play as opposed to a veteran who is finished. Going on 10 years this FO has proved they can't perform though and here we still are.

[sweetmusicviola16]

I'm not finding the game thread today, but 7-0 in the 7th. Where's the professional baseball? This new guy Bradley makes it apparent why the Rays moved on.

 

Even with a worse record the Sox are now a better team. Fire Falvey.