For the second-straight night, the White Sox jumped on a starter early, didn't press their advantage enough to see more than one reliever, and yet nobody will come away irritated about it.
The White Sox jumped on Taj Bradley for a second time this season to build a 7-0 lead through two innings, while four White Sox pitchers stitched together a five-hit shutout for a simple series victory.
Bradley, who was knocked around by the Sox for four runs over 1⅔ innings in his previous major league start while with Tampa Bay back on July 23, probably would've also departed this game in the second inning under more competitive circumstances. The White Sox greeted him with four straight hits en route to three first-inning runs, followed by a four-run second featuring a Colson Montgomery homer for a third-straight game. As this one unfolded, the Twins needed innings of any kind, and Bradley eventually figured out how to locate the occasional non-fastball for a strike to get through five. Preston Ohl then took it from there, throwing just 46 pitches over the final three innings and yielding an unearned run.
But that was more than the White Sox allowed. Gómez had moments of inefficiency, as well as a couple of pitch timer violations, but managed to get past the halfway mark in scoreless fashion. Luis Robert Jr. deserves a fair amount of credit, because he laid out for a diving catch in and to his left to strand a runner in the third inning, then hauled in a deep drive in the other direction for the second out of the fifth, which simplified that inning considerably.
"I'm thankful because he saved a couple runs there," Gómez said. "I'm just grateful for this opportunity and the confidence they've given me. The responsibility of starting games, that's something that I really like."
The early heavy lifting by the White Sox offense had already reduced the stress to a minimum, though.
They led 1-0 through three batters when Kyle Teel pulled a single through the right side to score Mike Tauchman, and then Teel beat out a throw to second on the Twins' attempt to salvage Robert's deflected grounder with a fielder's choice (he was originally called out, but a review overturned it). Up came Edgar Quero, and after Dan Merzel denied him a run-scoring walk by calling a high 3-0 pitch a strike, he capitalized on the extra life by shooting a two-run single through the middle.
An inning later, the Sox took control of the game for good. Just about every hitter was getting their A-swings in, and while Curtis Mead lined out to left to open the second, Tauchman found turf with his line drive to start the rally. Miguel Vargas followed with a walk, and Teel dropped his second RBI single in as many innings to make it 4-0.
"We know he's got a great fastball," Teel said of Bradley. "Our focus was just to get on the heater. You know with a guy like that, that's what you have to do just because his fastball is so good."
Robert's legs once again helped him avoid a problematic grounder when Luke Keaschall threw high and wide on an attempt to turn an inning-ending double play. A run scored on the error, and then Montgomery compounded the pain by detonating a plate-splitting cutter and sending it a few rows short of the concourse in right. It's what you would call a goose-threatener if that fiberglass installment still existed, but while the White Sox's boring outfield landscape removed the visual drama, the White Sox still led 7-0 en route to their 14th series victory of the season.
"I’m just enjoying the moment," Robert said via interpreter. "I don’t know for how long I’m going to be here. What matters is today. Today I’m enjoying the moment, and enjoying being with these guys."
Montgomery spent the entire game on the attack, putting the second, second, first and second pitches in play in his four plate appearances. His last one resulted in a scalded grounder that caromed off Keaschall for his second error of the game, and Quero once again capitalized on an extra opportunity by lining another run-scoring single to center for the eighth and final run.
Bullet points:
*The two-catcher lineup paid dividends, as Teel and Quero combined to go 5-for-8 with five RBIs.
"When those guys are playing well, we’re going to have a chance to win some games," Will Venable said. "They’re going to be right there in the thick of it. Obviously, they’re a big part of our future and also give us the best chance to win on a daily basis."
*Tauchman went 2-for-4 with two runs scored from the leadoff spot despite lacking legs. The lack of burst only was exposed on a Ryan Jeffers line drive that went over his head after he broke in, but Brandon Eisert struck out Royce Lewis to cover it up.
*Robert also made a tricky catch on a deep drive over his head on the game's penultimate plate appearance.
*The White Sox have scored 45 runs over their last six games, even though it included a shutout.
*The White Sox have to go 16-16 the rest of the way to avoid a 100-loss season.
