Bullpen advantage shows up for White Sox in series opener vs. Twins

Garrett Crochet

If you just saw the 9-3 final score, you would think the White Sox coasted to a victory over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of their three-game series Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Well, this game was actually close through five innings. Sox starter Dylan Cease and Minnesota starter Kenta Maeda both gave up three runs in the second inning, but nothing more. Both starters left after five innings with the game tied, 3-3.

Here's the difference in this game:

Sox bullpen: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 Ks, 0 BBs

Twins bullpen: 3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 Ks, 2 BBs

The Sox took the lead for good when Jose Abreu connected for his seventh home run of the season, a 2-run shot off Jorge Alcala in the bottom of the sixth. The South Siders added two runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth, and that made for a comfortable finish. 

And hey, congratulations to Garrett Crochet (1-2), who picked up his first major league win out of the bullpen. Crochet entered with runners at first and third and one out in the top of the sixth inning, and he kept Minnesota off the board. The Sox scored in the bottom of that inning, and there's your win.

Also of note in this game, Yasmani Grandal hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the second inning off Maeda to tie the game, after the Twins jumped to an early 3-0 lead.

In case you were wondering about Grandal's bizarre slash line, his 1-for-4 night brings it to .121/.372/.288.