Martín Maldonado of the White Sox is tagged out by Ryan Jeffers of the Twins in the third inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 30, 2024 in Chicago. (Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Quinn Harris/Getty
Hello, May.
Goodbye to whatever that was.
A 6-5 come-from-behind victory by the Twins, their ninth win in a row before a paid crowd of 11,609 at Guaranteed Rate Field, completed a dreadful 6-24 March/April for the White Sox.
It’s the worst 30-game mark for the Sox, whose .200 winning percentage is the worst in the majors, in franchise history.
There were blown opportunities to score runs in multiple innings — the Sox were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position while the Twins were 6-for-13 — too many walks at the wrong time and a questionable throw home beyond the cutoff man by left fielder Andrew Benintendi.
Max Kepler’s sacrifice fly against Michael Kopech in the ninth scored Byron Buxton with the go-ahead run as the Twins (16-13) improved to 13-1 against the Sox since May of 2023. Buxton, who entered in the fifth inning as a pinch hitter, walked to open the inning.
Sox third baseman Danny Mendick hit his first homer, a two-run shot in the fifth against Kody Funderburk for a 4-2 lead, and Benintendi hit his third homer in four games, a tying shot in the eighth.
In the eighth, Carlos Correa singled in the tying run and moved up to second on Benintendi’s accurate but sailing throw to the plate, then scored on Trevor Larnach’s single to right in a two-run eighth inning to give the Twins a 5-4 lead.
“Benny thought he had a play at the plate,” manager Pedro Grifol said.
Right-hander Michael Soroka retired the first 10 batters he faced but was pulled in the fifth after Willi Castro’s RBI triple and Kyle Farmer’s RBI double.
“We have to find ways to win those ballgames,” Grifol said. “Make sure we are making contact with two strikes, runners in scoring position, putting the ball in play.”
Ex-All-Star Walsh signs minor-league deal
Former All-Star first baseman Jared Walsh signed a minor-league contract and was sent to the Sox’ spring-training complex in Arizona to prep for an assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.
Walsh, 30, was designated for assignment by the Rangers on April 20, and after clearing waivers elected for free agency
Walsh has batted .200/.263/.352 with 20 homers in 169 games since the start of the 2022 season.
Minor trade
The Sox traded left-hander Bailey Horn to the Red Sox for cash considerations. Horn was designated for assignment Friday.
Keller, Clevinger to join rotation
Brad Keller, who made his Sox debut with two scoreless relief innings Monday, will make his first start Friday in St. Louis. Mike Clevinger, who made his second start for Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, is likely to join the Sox for their series at the Rays early next week.
Clevinger, the Sox’ best starter last season who signed as a free agent on April 4 to rejoin the team, allowed two runs in four innings, striking out four and walking one while throwing 71 pitches.
Crochet to the pen?
Grifol said first-time starter Garrett Crochet, who pitched 12⅔ innings in relief last season, could go to the bullpen later in the season as his workload is monitored.
“There’s a possibility, obviously the workload is a real thing,” Grifol said. “We can’t hide from that. The innings were really low last year. The pitches thrown were really low. Every time he steps on the mound is uncharted waters.”