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The Good Guys’ offense ran on Sam Antonacci energy, as the rookie spark plug went 4-for-4 in a dominant win over the Twins. | (David Berding/Getty Images)
After two frustrating losses to begin the series, the White Sox responded exactly how good teams are supposed to: They punched back.
Erick Fedde spun five shutout innings, the offense piled on 12 hits and eight walks, and the Sox steamrolled the Twins. Sure, they lost the series, but they leave Minnesota with a +11 run differential and at least a little dignity restored.
The Sox jumped all over Taj Bradley from pitch one. Sam Antonacci singled, Miguel Vargas walked, and Andrew Benintendi slapped a base hit, and suddenly the sacks were packed with nobody out. Colson Montgomery, who had a rough game, whiffed on three pitches, but Chase Meidroth worked an eight-pitch walk to push home the first run and keep his on-base streak alive at 17.
Rookie Jacob Gonzalez delivered the big blow of the frame, slapping a single the other way to plate two more.
The Twins then gift-wrapped another run on a soft Tristan Peters grounder and some classic Minnesota bumbling. The Good guys were up 4-0.
Fedde could have pitched in slippers with that early cushion. The righthander, finally in the win column, was on cruise control. He mowed down the first 11 Twinkies and breezed through three innings on just 30 pitches. Minnesota didn’t sniff a baserunner until he walked Trevor Larnach with two outs in the fourth, and didn’t surrender a base hit until Luke Keaschall finally broke up the party with two gone in the fifth. The veteran’s final line: five scoreless, two hits, a walk, two Ks. Efficient, effective, and with 61 pitches, he barely broke a sweat.
The Sox kept loading the bases and then leaving them there, stranding runners in the second, third, and fourth. Montgomery had a day to forget with four strikeouts, seven left in scoring position, and a golden sombrero for his troubles.
The South Siders finally broke it open in the sixth, thanks to some generous Twins defense. Rikuu Nishida reached on an error, took second on another, and Antonacci cashed him in with a double for 5-0.
The bullpen relieved Fedde after five frames and ensured there would be no drama. Grant Taylor took care of the sixth and seventh, mowing down six of seven and picking up three Ks. Chris Murphy cleaned up the last two, dodging a couple of late baserunners to lock down the shutout.
The bats added some finishing touches in the eighth. Antonacci doubled again, Vargas singled him home, and Benintendi put the cherry on top with a two-run Benny Bomb to right-center. 8-0, let’s go!
Antonacci, Vargas, and Benintendi did the heavy lifting at the top, combining to go 7-for-10 and reaching base 13 times. The offense also did exactly what was discussed in our game thread: they were patient and worked the free passes. Eight walks later, Minnesota’s pitchers were begging for mercy.
Despite the big lead, the Sox went just 5-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left a pile of runs on the table, but after the first two games, nobody in the clubhouse was about to gripe. The guys gets a breather on Thursday, then it’s off to Philly for the weekend.
Who was the White Sox MVP?
Sam Antonacci: 4-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 2BMiguel Vargas: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BBAndrew Benintendi: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, HRChase Meidroth: 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB, 2B, 2 KJacob Gonzalez: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, BBTristan Peters: 1-for-5, RBI, 2B, KDrew Romo: 1-for-5, 2B, 2 KErick Fedde: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K, WGrant Taylor: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 KChris Murphy: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, HBP
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Who was the White Sox Cold Cat? Colson Montgomery: 0-for-6, 4 KRikuu Nishida: 0-for-3, R, K
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