The White Sox snapped their 14-game losing streak at Target Field, successfully holding a modest lead after the starter completed five innings.
Now, could they have done it if it hadn't rained steadily all game, with the grounds crew finally crying "uncle" after seven innings? That's a debate that will rage through the ages.
However it happened, the White Sox picked up their second win of the road trip and their first save of the season, which protected Shane Smith's first major league win.
Smith successfully managed the negligible amount of traffic he encountered over the course of the afternoon, and unlike his other starts, he had the most control of the game over his final two innings. A more established version of Smith probably could've been called upon to start the sixth inning, given that he'd thrown only 82 pitches, but the version the White Sox have seen so far -- one who starts suddenly suffering damaged the third time through, after 70 pitches or so -- prompted Will Venable to not push his luck with a 3-0 lead.
Jordan Leasure immediately courted danger by giving up a leadoff walk and a single in the seventh, but he struck out Trevor Larnach and benefited from a gift strike three to Carlos Correa, turning a walk into a second out. Ty France then lined out softly to second to preserve the three-run margin.
Brandon Eisert made easier work of the seventh, only allowing a two-out double to Christian Vázquez. He ended the inning with a flyout from Jonah Bride, and the tarp came out shortly after, so Eisert recorded the save, a first for him personally, and the first for the White Sox as a team in 2025.
With the game lasting only seven innings instead of nine, Smith's five innings were the equivalent of 6⅓, which is an extra out into quality start territory. Eventually he'll have to get there on his own, but the weather provided an opportunity to strategize for a shorter day, and Venable took it.
The White Sox offense provided Smith with single runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings. Lenyn Sosa pulverized a first-pitch hanging slider for a solo shot to start the scoring, and Miguel Vargas crushed a thigh-high 2-2 fastball from Jorge Alcala off the facing of the second deck in the sixth.
In between, the White Sox let Chris Paddack hurt himself. Vargas kept the fourth inning alive with a two-out walk, after which Michael A. Taylor singled reached on an infield single, and then Paddack lost the strike zone. He walked Bobby Dalbec on four pitches to load the bases, then walked Joshua Palacios on five pitches to make it a 2-0 game.
Paddack fared better than he did in his first start of 2025, but he still has to deal with the fact that he's been the losing pitcher in one-third of the White Sox's wins this season.
Bullet points:
*Smith lowered his ERA to 2.30 with a fine line: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. He picked off a runner, generated one double-play ball, and almost a second.
*The Twins went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, more than doubling the White Sox's 0-for-4 lack of success.
*The White Sox have doubled the amount of wins they had against the Twins last year, and in fewer than half the chances.
Record: 6-19 | Box score | Statcast
