White Sox 3, Twins 1: Pitchers' Duels Sound Fun Until You Lose One

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Zebby Matthews - 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (88 pitches, 56 strikes (63.6% strikes))
Home Runs: Brooks Lee (6)
Bottom 3 WPA (via Fangraphs): Josh Bell (-0.13), Kody Clemens (-0.12), Zebby Matthews (-0.09)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Coming off a series sweep in Boston, the Twins were looking to continue their winning ways against the South Siders in Chicago—and trying to get back to .500. The Twins got on the board quickly on a Brooks Lee solo shot off lefty Anthony Kay in the first inning. 

In the bottom half of the first inning, White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami kept the impressive start to his Stateside career going, taking Zebby Matthews deep to tie the game on his 18th home run of the season.    

The Twins were able to get three hits in the top of the second, but were unable to score. Making his major-league debut, Rikuu Nishida, a second baseman by trade, showed off a pretty solid throwing arm, throwing out Orlando Arcia at the plate on an Alex Jackson single.

In the bottom of the second, the White Sox didn’t wait long to take a two-run lead. Drew Romo hit a two-run shot after Tristan Peters drew a four-pitch leadoff walk (those will haunt...) against Matthews. Both starting pitchers settled in, not giving up a run through the sixth inning. The bullpens took over from there.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Twins showed off some defense, with Arcia making a barehanded play off of a deflection and Austin Martin making a diving play in right field. Simeon Woods Richardson threw two scoreless innings in relief of Matthews, and notably, his fastball sat at 94.1 MPH, touching a tick higher. Woods Richardson's success in this new role hinges on throwing a bit harder because of the transition; he's doing that.

The Twins managed one hit in each of the final three innings off the White Sox bullpen, but were unable to string hits together to close the gap. Seranthony Domínguez closed the game out for the White Sox, securing his 11th save of the season. 

What’s Next?
The Twins and White Sox will face off again on Tuesday evening, in the second game of a four-game series. The pitching matchup will feature Joe Ryan (3-3, 3.02 ERA) facing off against Sean Burke (2-3, 4.08 ERA). Ryan is coming off three straight quality starts, and will be looking to continue his solid start to his season. In his most recent start, he threw six innings and gave up one run against the Houston Astros. 

Bullpen Usage Chart