White Sox 6, Twins 2: Adam Engel subs superbly
I wasn’t counting on going to Target Field tonight, but the plane, train and pace of game all aligned to allow Josh to transfer a ticket to me, and I got into the park by the bottom of the sixth. I saw Joe Kelly pitch a 1-2-3 innings as the first reliever supporting Michael Kopech, then Adam Engel — who replaced Luis Robert in the second due to lightheadedness — hit a three-run homer off Griffin Jax in the seventh that effectively put the game away.
As for what I missed here’s a bullet-point recap. As always, let me know of any details that demand accounting.
*Michael Kopech picked up the win with a shaky five innings. His velocity returned, but his command abandoned him. He issued four walks on top of five hits over five innings while striking out two, but limited the damage to two first-inning runs.
*Kopech only got three swinging strikes on 90 pitches, so seeing his fastball back to averaging 95.5 mph only goes so far.
*Those first-inning runs negated what the Sox did against Devin Smeltzer, as Andrew Vaughn chopped a single through the left side with the bases loaded that scored two.
*Robert broke poorly on two fly balls in the first inning before departing the game, turning a single in front of him into a double by letting the hop get past him, then starting in on a ball that he had to backtrack for. Fortunately, he made that catch to strand two.
*Tim Anderson put the White Sox ahead with his first homer since May 22, pounding a hanging first-pitch splitter from Emilio Pagan out to the deepest part of the park for a solo shot and a 3-2 lead in the fourth.
*Anderson also made a sensational leaping grab to steal a single from Max Kepler in the fifth inning.
*Reese McGuire almost hit his first White Sox homer, but had to settle for a double high off the right-field wall.
*Engel’s homer off Griffin Jax was made possible by Luis Arraez, who booted an Anderson grounder at him with one out. Yoán Moncada followed with walk before Engel left the yard on a 3-2 pitch.
*Anderson mishandled a hop during Kendall Graveman’s eighth inning, but the official scorer ruled neither an error. The only one on the books was the hop that got past Robert in the first inning.
*We’ll see you at the party tomorrow. Get your last-minute tickets here.
Record: 45-45 | Box score | Statcast
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As another commenter said: Blood in the water, boys. Go get ‘em.
To give some credit – It was @Foulkelore in the game thread who said “Blood in the water, boys. Keep it up.”
Let’s hope. Winning even one of the next two will let us avoid a dour break. Winning two could lead to – dare I say it – sanguinity.
More good news: Yasmani Grandal hit a home run in Charlotte with an exit velocity of 102.5 mph that traveled 408 ft so it wasn’t a cheap one. (He was batting right handed.)
I’m letting my inner 12 yr old comment the rest of the way
YES! Way to go Engel! C’mon Lynn! Get your form back and beat these guys!! Let’s keep it up everybody!!!
Some of the characters in the story may be different, but I think this is the kind of win Hahn had in mind when building this team. 5 strong from a starter, a couple of home runs, and a lights out bullpen. It’d be a welcome sight if they did that with more regularity!
Did all of you who made the trip north produce a hard restart on this glitching team? Nice work.
The good news (beyond taking the first two from the Twinkies) is that Thad Levine did his best Rick Hahn impression when asked about the trade deadline: lots of comments about guys coming back from injuries, not much indication that they are looking for external help. I found that somewhat surprising given Correa’s one year cost, and that they have more and better prospect capital than we do from which to make deals.
The Twins need at least one starter, and at least one backend reliever, and probably an upgrade lefty reliever. Our outlook really improves if they stand pat.
Not to be a Negative Nancy here but in the 6 starts since Kopech left in the 1st inning with the knee pop he has given up 8 runs on 9 hits and 7 walks in the 1st inning. I’m beginning to think it’s a mental issue.
Not sure how much of it is due to the ball, but this is worth sharing.
https://twitter.com/JRFegan/status/1548160467977117698
I’ve also seen discussion from some smart folks on Twitter that he’s pitching through a classic “dead arm” situation.
I always like seeing Engel do well because he plays hard and he seems like one of the more unselfish players we have. Definitely weird that he wasn’t in the starting lineup to begin with, but he came in ready to go. Hell yeah.
I keep forgetting how few MLB innings Kopech has thrown. I think he’s really learning this year how to deal with the ups and downs of being an MLB starting pitcher, and next year I expect him to be a lot better.
The Sox have hit 8 HRs in the last 4 games.
Dylan Bundy starting today has given up 5 HR in his last 7 starts and 4 HR in his last 5 starts to the Sox.
Sunday looks to be a BP day for the Twins who have given up as a group 52 HR this season.
The Sox have hit 13 HR vs the Twins this season, the most by any opponent.
Don’t stop now boys.
3 swinging strikes on 90 pitches for kopech is amazing… twins seemed to have a good eye on him as borderline pitches were being taken…. good that his velo is back next hopefully his wipeout breaking ball returns
TA must know every offiical scorer in baseball and tip them well come christmas time because ive never seen a guy make more obvious errors that get ruled hits, happens in his favor all the time, probably why the metrics never like his defense but the error totals dont seem to be a problem
Great to see the twins make some defensive mistakes and managerial mistakes and the sox pounce on them. IS THIS FINALLY the turnaround we have been praying for ????