Friday night’s game between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins was a wild one, an absolute head-scratcher where both squads seemed to be in a full-blown competition to see who could drop the ball harder. Colson Montgomery tried to set the tone early for the South Siders, but man, Luis Castillo had other, far less desirable plans for how the night would go down.
Castillo’s ‘Meatballs’ Nearly Squandered a Four-Run First
You wouldn’t believe it. Chicago rolls out a four-spot in the very first inning. A massive lead, right? Surely, Castillo could lock that down. Nope. He immediately coughed up three runs in the first, then the Twins tied it all up in the second. It was a classic weird night for Castillo: his ‘meatballs’ often went unpunished, while the few decent pitches he threw got absolutely walloped. Honestly, it almost felt like Twins pitcher Dean Kremer realized his team is basically out of the playoff race and decided to help the White Sox out, because he’s “bad at baseball” too. Chicago did get the lead back to 5-4 in the third thanks to a couple of doubles, but then the White Sox themselves remembered they were in on the ‘let’s try to lose’ pact and promptly grounded into a double play in the fourth. What even was that?
Grant Taylor’s Brilliance Can’t Erase Ninth Inning Nerves
Just when you think things can’t get any stranger, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers decides to join the party of weird plays. He let a wild pitch get by, which allowed Tristan Peters to score and give Chicago a two-run cushion. And because apparently, once wasn’t enough, Jeffers let it happen again later, gifting Chicago a crucial insurance run. Castillo might have kept the lead intact, but burning 75 pitches in just four innings meant the bullpen was staring down a heavy workload. That’s a brutal ask, even when your starter is struggling. Huge props to Grant Taylor though, who was absolutely lights-out. Manager Will Venable asked a ton from him, and Taylor delivered 2 ⅔ innings of high-leverage brilliance, saving the day big time. But because the White Sox just love to keep you on the edge of your seat, they put themselves in harm’s way again in the ninth. Luckily, the Twins, true to form, squandered yet another opportunity, shutting out over the last seven innings despite getting runners on base constantly. Going just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, grounding into two double plays, and stranding eight base runners? That’s just rough.
So, the White Sox grab a win, but man, what a way to do it. When you win despite “horrible pitching” and an insane amount of delays, it leaves a lot of questions. This kind of bizarre victory, where the opponent practically hands it to you, doesn’t inspire confidence. For the White Sox, the form of Luis Castillo and the heavy reliance on the bullpen are screaming for attention. This wasn’t a triumph; it was a narrow escape. And you gotta wonder how long they can keep escaping with that kind of early-season performance from their ace.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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