NBC Sports Chicago is simulating the 2020 White Sox season via MLB The Show during the postponement of play. The White Sox, stocked with young talent and veteran offseason acquisitions, were expected to take a big step forward in their rebuild this season. Follow along as we play out the first few months of the season.
Result: White Sox def. Twins, 9-5
Record: 23-29, 3rd in A.L. Central (6.5 GB of Twins)
W: Jimmy Cordero (2-0)
L: Trevor May (0-1)
Game summary: The White Sox got a solid start from Dallas Keuchel, who went six innings against the high-powered Twins offense and only surrendered three earned runs. The Twins scored two runs off Jimmy Cordero in the seventh via a Byron Buxton homer and a Josh Donaldson RBI single to take a temporary a 5-4 lead.
The Sox were in desperate need of a boost in the eighth to keep their winning streak alive and luckily enough, Yasmani Grandal came up clutch. His two-run home run to center field gave the White Sox a 6-5 lead and silenced the Target Field crowd.
Chicago added three insurance runs in the ninth on RBI singles from Grandal and Nomar Mazara to stretch the lead to four. Rick Renteria went with Jace Fry in the ninth to close things out, and the lefty went three up three down to end the contest.
MLB
The Sox have now won nine of their last 10 games and that’s in part to an offensive explosion of late. Grandal is leading the charge with eight home runs in his last nine games and his 18 home runs rank second in the American League. Grandal also ranks second in the AL in WAR (3.7), trailing league leader Anthony Rendon (4.2).
White Sox lineup:
Edwin Encarnacion: 0-6 (.309 BA)
Eloy Jimenez: 1-5 (.261 BA)
Yoan Moncada: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI (.258 BA)
Nick Madrigal: 2-5 (.248 BA)
Jose Abreu: 1-4, BB (.296 BA)
Tim Anderson: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI (.299 BA)
Luis Robert: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI (.240 BA)
Yasmani Grandal: 2-2, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB (.297 BA)
Nomar Mazara: 2-5, RBI (.245 BA)
Scoring summary:
Bottom first:
Josh Donaldson hit sacrifice fly to center field, Byron Buxton scored. 1-0 MIN.
Bottom third:
Donaldson singled to center field, Miguel Sano scored. 2-0 MIN.
Top fifth:
Tim Anderson homered to left field. 2-1 MIN.
Bottom fifth:
Donaldson grounded out to second base, Ehire Adrianza scored. 3-1 MIN.
Top sixth:
Luis Robert doubled to left field, Jose Abreu and Anderson scored. 3-3.
Top seventh:
Yoan Moncada doubled to center field, Eloy Jimenez scored. 4-3 CHW.
Bottom seventh:
Buxton homered to left field. 4-4.
Donaldson singled to center field, Sano scored. 5-4 MIN.
Top eighth:
Yasmani Grandal homered to center field, Robert scored. 6-5 CHW.
Top ninth:
Anderson hit sacrifice fly to right field, Moncada scored. 7-5 CHW.
Grandal singled to center field, Nick Madrigal scored. 8-5 CHW.
Nomar Mazara singled to center field, Abreu scored. 9-5 CHW.
Notable performance: With a single in the sixth, Abreu extended his hitting streak to 17 games on Saturday. Abreu has been red hot this month, batting .395 in May with seven homers and 18 RBIs. His production has been a welcome sign after batting .239 in April.
Next game: Sunday, May 24 - Game 53: White Sox at Twins (Dylan Cease, 2-3, 4.60 ERA vs Rich Hill, 3-3, 4.96 ERA)
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the White Sox easily on your device.