The White Sox just had one of those nights. After two thrilling games, this game was a complete snoozer. The White Sox fell 5-1 to the Twins and only managed to get a total of two hits.
Lucas Giolito (6IP 3H 3ER 3BB 4K 104PC 1L) wasn’t awful, but not his usual dominant self either. He battled to keep the White Sox in the game even without his top-notch stuff on Wednesday. What is a little concerning is that Giolito has yet to pitch well against any winning ball club. That does not bode well going into the playoffs. Hopefully, he looks better in his last start before the playoffs.
The bullpen, who had been dominant for the past six games, gave up some runs. Matt Foster was tagged with two runs in the 8th, a cherry on top of this awful night for the White Sox. 1B Jose Abreu scored the only run for the White Sox with his 16th home run of the year, keeping his MVP season alive. The other hit was by the other MVP candidate, SS Tim Anderson. Anderson needed a little boost because 2B DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees has gone on a tear and is tied with Anderson with a .373 average.
The White Sox were hoping to send out Dallas Keuchel in the series finale on Thursday. Instead, Keuchel will pitch over the weekend against the Reds, which will help get their playoff rotation set. Reynaldo Lopez will get the start on Thursday afternoon and take on Kenta Maeda. Lopez (5IP 3H 0ER 1BB 2K 1W) will have a chance to show that Saturday’s game wasn’t a fluke and give the White Sox its only series win against the Twins.