White Sox 6, Twins 2: Walks and Mistakes Cost Twins Early in Disappointing Series Finale

Box Score

SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K (67 pitches, 40 strikes (60% strikes))
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Simeon Woods Richardson (-0.28), Trevor Larnach (-0.06), Ryan Kreidler (-0.06)
Win Probability Chart

The Twins entered Thursday’s series finale against the White Sox desperately needing a bounce-back performance after getting blown out 15-2 the night before. Instead, another sloppy and frustrating afternoon pushed them further behind Chicago in the AL Central race.

After Kendry Rojas was scratched roughly an hour before first pitch with elbow soreness, Simeon Woods Richardson was forced into an unexpected start. The Twins never found much rhythm offensively behind him, while Chicago capitalized on walks and mistakes throughout the afternoon to hand Minnesota a disappointing 6-2 loss and a three-out-of-four series defeat.

The loss dropped the Twins to 27-30 on the season.

WALKS AND MISTAKES PROVE COSTLY EARLY
For a brief moment, it looked like Woods Richardson might settle in nicely despite the late change.

The right-hander struck out Sam Antonacci and Munetaka Murakami to begin the bottom of the first. After getting ahead of Miguel Vargas 0-2, he appeared on the verge of a clean opening inning. Instead, Vargas worked a two-out walk, stole second base, and quickly came around to score when Colson Montgomery ripped a single back up the middle to give Chicago an early 1-0 lead.

Minnesota’s defense helped Woods Richardson escape additional trouble in the inning, with Orlando Arcia making a sliding stop at second base to rob Chase Meidroth of a hit, but the warning signs were already there.

After working around a leadoff double from Tristan Peters in the second inning, Woods Richardson completely unraveled in the third. Murakami drew a one-out walk, Montgomery singled for his second hit of the afternoon, and another walk to Meidroth loaded the bases with two outs. Peters then beat out a softly hit infield single to plate a run, before Randal Grichuk delivered the big blow. After getting a fastball at the bottom of the zone, Grichuk ripped a liner into right field that cleared the bases and stretched the White Sox lead to 5-0.

All five runs charged to Woods Richardson scored after walks extended innings, once again highlighting the issue that has consistently haunted the Twins’ pitching staff throughout the season. He exited after just 2 2/3 innings.

DAVIS MARTIN COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN THE TWINS
While Minnesota’s pitching staff battled command issues, White Sox starter Davis Martin looked completely locked in from the opening inning. Martin retired the first six Twins hitters he faced and needed only 23 pitches to get through the opening two frames. Even when Minnesota finally generated a little traffic in the third inning, Martin calmly worked through it.

Tristan Gray recorded the Twins’ first hit of the afternoon with a single up the middle in the third. He later stole second base, and Byron Buxton followed with a walk to put two runners aboard. Martin responded by getting Brooks Lee to ground out and end the inning. That sequence ended up being one of Minnesota’s better opportunities against him all afternoon.

The Twins managed just three hits through Martin’s six innings of work, while repeatedly falling behind in counts and struggling to generate consistent hard contact. He retired the side in order four separate times and finished six dominant innings on only 84 pitches.

Minnesota finally scratched across its first run in the fifth inning after Arcia worked a leadoff walk and Gray doubled off the right field wall. Ryan Kreidler followed with a groundout that brought home Arcia and cut the deficit to 6-1, but the Twins were going to need a lot more than that.

Even when Josh Bell snapped an 0-for-14 skid with an automatic double in the seventh inning, the Twins could only manufacture a sacrifice fly from Victor Caratini before the inning ended.

The eighth inning briefly offered another opportunity after Buxton singled and Lee reached on an error, but Trevor Larnach and Kody Clemens both struck out swinging to strand the runners and effectively end any hopes of a comeback.

THE TWINS NEVER RECOVER AFTER ANOTHER SLOPPY PERFORMANCE
Minnesota’s pitching staff settled down after Woods Richardson’s rough third inning, but the damage had already been done.

Andrew Morris struck out the side in the fourth despite allowing an unearned run after a throwing error on a pickoff attempt helped set up another Chicago score. Travis Adams bounced back from a difficult outing the night before with a clean fifth inning, while Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda, and Yoendrys Gómez combined to keep the White Sox quiet over the final three innings. But the Twins’ offense simply never gave them much of a chance.

Gray finished with two of Minnesota’s five hits, while Buxton, Bell, and Caratini accounted for the others. Outside of a few isolated moments, the lineup struggled to put together any sustained pressure against Chicago's pitching.

After entering the series just a half-game behind the White Sox in the division standings, the Twins now leave Chicago having dropped three of four games to a divisional team directly ahead of them in the AL Central. And after an ugly blowout loss Wednesday night, Thursday’s frustrating finale only made an already disappointing series feel even worse.

What’s Next?
The Twins continue their road drop this weekend, as they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates in a three-game series starting tomorrow. Taj Bradley is lined up to start for the Twins, and right-hander Jared Jones will make his season debut for Pittsburgh. First pitch is set for 5:45 PM CT, on Apple TV+.

Postgame Interviews
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Bullpen Availability Chart