MINNEAPOLIS – The date was Aug. 6, 2023, and the White Sox rallied to beat Cleveland at Progressive Field with a trio of two-out runs in the ninth inning erasing a one-run deficit.
Elvis Andrus delivered the game-winning hit, bringing home Andrew Vaughn and Oscar Colas, and Jimmy Lambert’s first-career save preserved Sammy Peralta’s first-career victory. That contest also happened to be the last time the White Sox won a game when trailing after eight innings, running through a streak of 205 consecutive defeats.
That is, until Wednesday night at Target Field. The White Sox (52-88) rallied for three runs in the ninth inning against a beleaguered Twins bullpen, claiming a 4-3 victory in dramatic fashion. Michael A. Taylor delivered the game-winner, lining a two-out, two-strike, two-run double off Justin Topa down the left field line, a drive barely kicking up chalk to stay fair and spark the team’s fourth straight win.
“I didn’t know,” said Taylor, as to whether his connection would stay fair. “It was hooking at the end, so I was hoping it would stay. I heard it landed right on the line.”
“A good night to break that streak,” added reliever Grant Taylor.
Grant Taylor benefitted from Michael A. Taylor’s clutch hitting, picking up his first career victory. Not just his first victory at the Major League level, but first victory as a baseball professional.
He threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, striking out two, and allowing the offense to fight back in the ninth against Kody Funderburk and Topa. The rally began with one out when Edgar Quero singled and Andrew Benintendi walked on a borderline 3-2 pitch from Funderburk. After a Curtis Mead strikeout for the second out, Brooks Baldwin’s broken bat single scored a run and Baldwin’s ensuing steal of second allowed him to score easily on Taylor’s hit.
“[Manager] Will [Venable] gave me the steal there to try to get to second to see if they were throwing through. Maybe we can steal a run if they do throw through,” Baldwin said. “But yeah, go-ahead run on second base in scoring position and I can most likely score a run on whatever is hit to the outfield.”
“Obviously on a day where we really just couldn’t get anything going offensively, our pitching staff did a great job keeping us in the game,” Venable said. “Our defense did a good job keeping us in the game and we just continued to fight. It’s really cool for this group to fight back and put ourselves in a good spot to take that one.”
Even with a vastly improved 20-23 ledger after the All-Star break, nothing seems to come easy for the White Sox. Jordan Leasure allowed a leadoff double to Byron Buxton in the ninth and walked Trevor Larnach to put the winning run on base, but Leasure retired the next three without the runners advancing to pick up his sixth save.
Wednesday’s comeback gave the White Sox 15 series wins as they continue to make progress within this 2025 campaign. And the comparisons for improvement really should begin there, not against the 121 losses of ‘24, because this is primarily a different group of players.
But losing 100, or not losing 100, is on the mind for some of the ‘25 White Sox. They need to finish 11-11 down the stretch -- facing the Tigers, Guardians, Yankees and Nationals on the road following Thursday’s series finale, and the Rays, Orioles and Padres at home -- to avoid a third straight 100-loss campaign.
“We are trying to be the team that finishes strong,” Baldwin said. “Maybe we can be a spoiler here and there for different teams. The goal right now is don’t lose 100 and that’s what we are playing for: Be the team that resets it from last year. Just don’t lose 100 this year.”
Ninety-nine losses doesn’t seem a great deal different from 100, 101 or 102. So, the goal of playing good baseball, which the White Sox have been doing for most of the second half, really takes precedence over a loss total.
“For me, that number is not a big deal,” Michael A. Taylor said. “Where we’re at now, if we finish the year playing the game the right way and doing all those little things that we talked about, whether it’s 99 or 101, I think we’ll feel good about the progress.”
“Ultimately, we are trying to play good baseball and let the game take care of itself,” Grant Taylor said. “We don’t want to put too much of an emphasis on the record, because the process takes care of the results. As long as we put together good ABs and good innings on the mound, we can achieve what we want to achieve.”