White Sox 3, Twins 2: Walked-Off in Chi-Town

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (87 pitches, 60 strikes, 69%)
Home Runs: Nick Gordon (1)
Top 3 WPA: .Joe Ryan (.364), Nick Gordon (.177), Brock Stewart (.135)
Bottom 3 WPA: Jorge Lopez (-.397), Caleb Thielbar (-.365), Jose Miranda (-.155)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Baseball Weather
Guaranteed Rate Field felt like 45 degrees at the start of the game, and the baseball acted accordingly. Minnesota missed out on a chance to bust out the "Land of 10,000 Rakes" vest early, as Carlos Correa's 350 foot blast only traveled 336 feet...and the White Sox had a guy there.

Joe Ryan Continues to Deal
Ryan entered the game with a 5-0 record and a 0.82 WHIP with 40 strikeouts in only 34 innings pitched. In these chilly conditions, Ryan managed to continue his pinpoint control and ability to mix up his pitches effectively, to the tune of six strikeouts over the first four innings. It was the first time all season that Ryan navigated the first 12 outs of a game without giving up a run.

Michael Kopech Picked a Bad Time to Start to Deal
Kopech entered the game with 0-3 record and a 1.58 WHIP with 32 strikeouts in only 29 2/3 innings pitched, with a 6.07 ERA. Tonight saw Kopech hold the Twins hitless through five innings, mixing three walks with his six strikeouts. The Twins attempted to slow him down by taking time outs with 0-2 counts. That strategy rarely worked, and pointed out how smoothly Kopech was rolling, and how mystified the Twins batters were feeling.

And He's Off! The Running Game Works...and Doesn't Work
In the top of the third inning, Byron Buxton earned a walk with two out, and stole his first base of the season to put himself into scoring position. While he was ultimately stranded there, it was an encouraging development for a team needing to manufacture runs on the road. 

The fourth inning, however, pointed out the downside of aggressive baserunning, as Trevor Larnach was thrown out attempting to steal on a Jose Miranda strike out. On a night where the ball wasn't traveling well, it was a calculated risk.

Finally! A Hit! And Some Baserunners! And a Run!
Buxton got the hit parade started with one out in the top of the sixth inning with a ground ball up the middle that just cleared under newly returned Tim Anderson's glove. Jorge Polanco came up next, and took a four-pitch walk to put runners at first and second for Correa. Kopech's next four pitches weren't even close to the zone, and now the Twins were in business with the bases loaded for Larnach, who just got under a Kopech fastball for a sacrifice fly to score Buxton to break up the shutout.

It All Adds Up
A key moment in the game occurred without a ball ever entering fair territory. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Ryan was cruising along having only thrown 70 pitches. Anderson came to the plate, and 12 pitches later he had not only earned a walk, but had cost Ryan perhaps an extra inning of work later in the game. Andrew Benintendi eventually grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but the damage to the beloved pitch count was done.

Bullpen Time
Gregory Santos was the first man up from the White Sox bullpen as he entered to start the seventh inning, and gave up a close call blast to Joey Gallo but escaped unscathed. Jorge Lopez entered the bottom of the seventh inning, and gave up a lead-off single to Andrew Vaughn and a go-ahead home run to Eloy Jimenez on only eight pitches. Eight. Pitches.

Thank You Alex Colome! And Nick Gordon of Course!
Luckily for Twins fans, the White Sox decided that their best chance at winning this game was to bring newly reinstated and Twins legend Colome into the eight inning. In a retrospectively masterful move, Gordon pinch hit for Michael A. Taylor, and suddenly the game was tied 2-2!

Gordon Giveth, and He Taketh Away
Twins Daily has been trying to figure out Gordon's role on the Twins as the season progresses, and other outfielders and bats come calling from the minors. Gordon showed in the bottom of the eighth how his impact to the roster carries into the field through his utility abilities as well by making an excellent catch in center field to end the inning. How he continues to play out this road trip will go a long way toward how long he stays on the roster.

Let's Hand the Game to... Brock Stewart?
Stewart got the call for the bottom of the ninth, and he walked Andrew Vaughn on six pitches, which led to the Billy Hamilton show entering the game as a pinch runner. Hamilton stole second, and stayed there after a successful White Sox challenge. Miranda made a nice play on a hard ground ball, but Hamilton took third on a groundout to third. The Twins then elected to intentionally walk Luis Robert, and pinch-hitter Adam Haseley flew out to Gordon in shallow center for the second out. Yasmani Grandal also walked, which brought up another pinch-hitter, Hanser Alberto. And yes, I'm stress-typing every one of these details out, please don't hate on me for it.

Could Stewart escape the bases-loaded jam to bring us to extras? Yes! He! Can! Alberto flys out to Kepler, and we never had a doubt that it would all be ok...

Extra Baseball!
Jimmy Lambert came in to pitch the 10th for the White Sox, and he couldn't throw a strike to save his life. Luckily for him, Christian Vasquez and Gordon decided they would swing at anything within three feet of the zone for a strike out on a ball four, and a groundout on a ball three. That left "ghost" runner Gallo at third base with two outs, with Buxton up at the plate. Three pitches and a strikeout later (on a very high pitch), an opportunity was missed and it was up to Caleb Thielbar to strand his inherited runner as well.

The White Sox began the 10th with some small-ball, with Elvis Andrus bunting Alberto over to third base. Anderson came up and laced a 2-2 pitch to a drawn-in Correa, who picked it clean and threw him out. Left-handed Andrew Benintendi was the next man up, and the Twins averted disaster as Thielbar bounced a fastball that Vasquez somehow miraculously kept around the home plate area to keep the winning run from coming in. All this relief quickly dissolved, however, when Benintendi laced a single to left field, ending the game at 3-2.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet