After an up-and-down start to the season, featuring a matchup against the defending champion Astros and some early interleague play, the White Sox finally played some divisional games this week. To kick off their A.L. Central schedule, the South Siders went up to Minnesota for a three game series against the Twins. With a 3-1 loss on Wednesday, the White Sox dropped the series 1-2 and sat at third place in the division at the time of the final out.
Here are three big trends that emerged over the course of the series:
POOR DEFENSE LEADS TO L’S
The White Sox fell victim to the ol’ extra innings bunt that resulted in walkoff throwing error on Tuesday night. A disappointing finish after Luis Robert Jr. tied the game with a ninth-inning solo shot, to say the least.
Then on Wednesday, another defensive miscue proved to be a major moment in the 3-1 loss. Gavin Sheets struggled to track a fly ball in right field, then tripped over his own feet when he tried to back track. The compounded mistakes led to a man on third instead of an out.
The White Sox had a chance to erase the mistake when Michael Taylor grounded out to first base, but Andrew Vaughn bobbled the ball and ruined any chances of cutting down the runner at home.
MIDDLETON THE MAN?
MLB
The White Sox signed Keynan Middleton to a minor league contract this offseason, and called him up to the big league club on Monday when they placed Joe Kelly on the 15-Day IL. They didn’t wait long to throw him into some high-leverage moments. On Tuesday, Middleton was the first man out of the pen in a one-run game and responded with 1.1 clean innings that included three strikeouts. So Pedro Grifol used him again on Wednesday, once again with the White Sox down only one run. Middleton wasn’t quite as dominant, but he was equally effective. He nabbed two outsー both on strikeoutsー and allowed no runs, but he did give up two hits. That brings his short White Sox career to an impressive 2.0 IP with no runs, two hits and five strikeouts. If Middleton keeps it up, he could play his way into earning an even more high-leverage role.
INJURY BUG BITES AGAIN
One of the biggest goals for the White Sox this year was to simply stay healthy. The team was decimated by injuries in 2022 and the prevailing thought in the locker room was that poor health prevented the team from playing to their full potential. Unfortunately, it’s been much of the same in 2023. The White Sox got their first dose of bad news when Eloy Jiménez strained a hamstring, necessitating an IL stint. Then the team announced Yoán Moncada would miss the Twins series with a sore back. No IL stint for Moncada, but still not good. The worst came in Monday’s series opener when Tim Anderson collided with a baserunner during a funky rundown play. Anderson initially looked ok, but later the White Sox revealed the star shortstop had sprained his MCL and could miss up to a month. Win-loss record aside, it’s hard to imagine a more disappointing start to the season for the team.
Up next for the White Sox, a series against the Orioles beginning on Friday. The White Sox resume A.L. Central play on May 2 with a home series against the Twins.