Not that it was even much of a duel on paper, but the barely ballyhooed battle between Luis Castillo and Dean Kremer wasn't settled by the starters. Instead, other elements like bullpens, passed pitches and double plays -- specifically double plays started by the first baseman -- ended up creating the margin tonight. The White Sox ended up on the positive side of those ledgers, and thus the scoreboard in the opener at Target Field.
The White Sox rocked Kremer for four runs in the first, Castillo gave it back over the next two, but the White Sox were the only team able to cross the plate over the final seven. Will Venable did what he could to ensure that outcome, using Grant Taylor over a career-high 2⅔ innings to get a three-run lead to the ninth inning. Bryan Hudson took it from there, and while flirting with danger by allowing the tying run to come to the plate, he ended up recording his sixth save of the season with no damage done.
Perhaps the scoreboard informed Venable's calculus. Having seen the Royals snap the Guardians' seven-game winning streak one time zone ahead, it certainly made sense to do everything within reason to expand the division lead to 3½ games.
It just could have been more comfortable after the White Sox hung four first-inning runs on Kremer, all after two outs. Miguel Vargas singled, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on Andrew Benintendi's single up the middle. Braden Montgomery extended the rally with a third consecutive well-struck base hit to put two on, and Colson Montgomery cashed them in with his 28th homer of the season, a three-run shot onto the right field overhang for a stunning 4-0 lead.
Castillo wasn't up for protecting the margin, giving up three rockets over the course of the first four batters he faced -- single, two-run Brooks Lee homer, and a solo shot by Kody Clemens two batters later -- to make it 4-3 after one. Lee then got him again in the second, singling to left with two outs to convert Trevor Larnach's leadoff double to tie the game at 4.
But the Sox were able to solve Kremer for a fifth run, and that was good enough to hang the loss on his record -- no small feat, considering Kremer was 4-0 with a 1.53 ERA in five career starts against the South Siders. Munetaka Murakami doubled on the chalk in the left field corner to lead off the third, and Benintendi sliced his own softer double to left two batters later to give the White Sox a 5-4 lead, and from that point forward, both offenses needed help getting home.
The White Sox weren't willing to offer such assistance. On the pitching front, Castillo was able to dampen the contact quality and get enough routine flyouts to keep the Twins scoreless off the board in the third and fourth innings, after which Venable went to his better bullpen arms. Hagen Smith worked a fine fifth, and when his control started crumbling in the sixth, Venable smashed the emergency glass for Taylor, who got the game through eight.
Fine defense helped, particularly in the infield, as Taylor benefited from two double plays, including a beauty by Murakami in the sixth. Murakami had previously started a 3-6 double play to erase a leadoff single for Castillo in the third, and he faced a less routine play three innings later. Taylor took over with runners on the corners with one out when Luke Keaschall tried shooting a high curve the opposite way. It found Murakami, who stepped back to step on first. Larnach broke for home, but Murakami kept his eye on that development and fired home immediately after finding the bag. His throw beat the runner by a few steps, and although it was high and on the first base side of the plate, Drew Romo had time to launch himself across the plate and tag Larnach's head before a hand could touch the plate to bring a palpable threat to a sudden end.
The Twins didn't quite have those things going for them, at least to that extent. Sam Antonacci's double play should've stunted a brewing rally in the fourth, but Tristan Peters was able to advance to third on the out(s), and scored via #PASSEDBALLOFFENSE by Jeffers to make it 6-4. The Sox added an eighth-inning insurance run in similar fashion, as Chase Meidroth doubled, took third on Peters' flyout and scored via #WILDPITCHOFFENSE to make it a three-run game.
That put a scratch on an otherwise effective night from the Twins bullpen, as Taylor Rogers, Travis Adams and Kody Funderburk combined to allow just the Meidroth run over the final five innings.
Bullet points:
*Peters' home run streak ended at five games, although he finished 1-for-4 with a run scored.
*The White Sox were excellent on challenges all evening. Romo went 2-for-3, with the miss being a shot worth taking in the ninth, but White Sox hitters went 3-for-3, with Vargas owning two, and Antonacci one.
*Castillo's final line: 4 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR. Not many pitches made it home, as he generated just six whiffs and eight called strikes over 75 pitches.
*The Tigers also lost, so the White Sox gained a game on their three closest challengers.
*History (a very specific kind):
The White Sox won their 71st gameThat’s the most wins by a team following at least three consecutive 100+ loss seasons, passing:2014 Astros, 1965 Senators, 1925 Boston Braves (70)It’s AugustRelated: no team has made the playoffs following even 2 straight 100-loss sznsYet
— Sarah Langs (@slangsonsports.bsky.social) 2026-08-29T03:21:09.189Z
