The White Sox had dropped 205 straight games when trailing after eight innings. On Wednesday, they stood just one strike from pushing that streak to 206. But Michael A. Taylor had other ideas.
The White Sox entered the ninth trailing the Twins 3–1. With two outs left, the offense sparked a rally. Edgar Quero lined a single to left, and Andrew Benintendi worked a seven-pitch walk against reliever Cole Sands. With the go-ahead run at the plate, Curtis Mead struck out, bringing the White Sox down to their final out.
It was a script all too familiar. Entering Wednesday, the White Sox were 11–31 in one-run games, many ending with the tying run stranded on base.
But Brooks Baldwin flipped the narrative, lining an RBI single to right to cut the deficit to one and move the tying run 90 feet from home. That set the stage for Michael A. Taylor, who fell behind 0-2 before evening the count. On the next pitch, he ripped a 114-mph line drive down the left-field line, delivering a two-run double and a stunning 4–3 White Sox lead.
The ball was inches away from being foul, just barely touching the left field chalk. But it was just enough to put rookie Grant Taylor in position for his first win in professional baseball.
Taylor had thrown 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, striking out two and allowing just one hit, to keep the team within striking distance. Jordan Leasure secured the win with his sixth save of the season, despite having to work around some traffic on the basepaths.
It was the type of victory the White Sox consistently found themselves on the wrong side of in the first half of the season. But since the All-Star break, there have been signs that the White Sox are on the cusp of turning into a winning ballclub.
After stumbling to a 32–65 start, the White Sox have shown signs of life since the break, going 20–23 while ranking among the league’s best offenses. Over that stretch, they sit third in hits, fourth in batting average, and fifth in home runs, while also placing sixth in runs scored and seventh in OPS. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a lineup that ranked 28th or worse in each of those categories before the All-Star break.
The victory also gave the White Sox their 15th series win of the year. Despite being out of playoff contention, the team is focusing on playing winning baseball in the final month of the season, specifically avoiding 100 losses for the third year in a row. The Southsiders need to finish the season 11-11 to avoid triple-digits in the loss column.
With series against the Tigers, Guardians, Yankees, Rays, and Padres down the stretch, the White Sox also have an opportunity to play spoiler, a role that they are relishing. “We are trying to be the team that finishes strong,” Baldwin told MLB.com after the game. “Maybe we can be a spoiler here and there for different teams. The goal right now is don’t lose 100, and that’s what we are playing for. Be the team that resets it from last year. Just don’t lose 100 games.”
