Twins 4, White Sox 0: Quality start streak ends, low-quality play endures
Here’s a bullet-point recap to cover the White Sox’s seventh straight loss, because the White Sox don’t really deserve the energy to form a cohesive narrative.
*Bailey Ober had never pitched into the seventh inning in any of his 29 MLB starts entering this one, nor had he struck out more than seven in one game. He pitched into the eighth in this one, setting single-game bests in innings (7â…“) and strikeouts (10) while throwing 65 of 91 pitches for strikes.
*Ober struck out the side on 14 pitches in the second. He needed just five pitches to complete the third, and completed the fourth and fifth on a combined 21 pitches. He also set a career high in swinging strikes with 20, toppiong his previous best of 17 on Aug. 11 of last year. Was it also against the Sox? You bet.
*Yoán Moncada accounted for two of the three times on base, doubling and walking. The former accounted for the only White Sox in scoring position. The latter was erased on an Eloy Jiménez double play, so Ober and two Twins relievers faced o0nly two over the minimum.
*Lance Lynn couldn’t stretch the White Sox’s quality start streak to seven, giving up four runs on 10 hits and a walk over five innings. A 31-pitch second inning put him behind the eight ball, and his night ended on a preposterous Matt Wallner homer with a launch angle of 45 degrees.
*Vince Velasquez struck out five of the six batters he faced over two perfect innings to lower his ERA below 5 (4.94).
*This game only took two hours and 38 minutes to complete, so that’s nice.
*The White Sox are now only a game ahead of the Twins for second place. They’ll have to be a game behind the Twins in order to draft ahead of them next year, because Minnesota had the worse record in 2021.
Record: 76-78 | Box score | Statcast
14K’s. 1BB.
The way this team has quit will make Miguel Cairo being named TLR’s replacement that much more infuriating.
Naw Konerko is going to be the next coach
His time coaching his son’s little league team has prepared him for this role.
#AllintheFamily
#GordonsDaddy
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#4starGeneral
I dont think there’s a manager out there that would’ve prevented this last week after the extras loss against Cleveland. I think this team is just as happy to go home for the winter as most of us are. Everybody on that team knows they’re the biggest disappointment of all the teams people were expecting for the playoffs this season and probably just want to move on.
Some players never left home.
I agree, but the faceplant has eliminated the possibility that Cairo will be named the manager for 2023. They need to select someone who is far from the stench of this season, and I suspect that they realize it.
Shame they had that brief stretch of competence after Tony was sidelined; might have been able to get a top-10 pick.
Their strength, is their consistency.
They really don’t. This team doesn’t deserve the writings of JM.
But we do 😊
Abreu took the worst swing I think i’ve ever seen a hitter take on a slider than bounced off the dirt while it was the LHH batter’s box.
Right now, this team is nothing but a bunch of sad sacks who feel sorry for themselves.
What I saw yesterday was a team that is tired of the season. They half assed during the season thinking they will win anyway. After the Guardians swept them, they realized it’s over and dialed down from half-ass to full-ass.
You never go full-ass.
Not sure if anyone else had a similar experience, but I felt good about seeing the final score last night. The Kenny Williams/Rick Hahn era has so conditioned me to just accept the team’s ineptitude and root for a higher draft pick that it was like muscle memory for me once the Guardians clinched the division. I’ll just wrap myself up in the pristine possibility of next year knowing there will be a consolation seat at many tables this offseason, and sink into it. Feels like home.
Side note: “Would it dong?” is an awesome tool and one of the best names on the internet.
Rick Hahn was stuggling to figure out how he could continue to build his system without high draft picks in the competitive window. He figured it out! Maybe he’s smarter than we think.