The White Sox were ready to “really kick it off,” as ace right-hander Lucas Giolito said.
Instead, they got kicked to the curb by the defending AL Central champion Twins, who showed them they’re still boss in the Sox’ division until proven otherwise. Opening Night 2020 could not have come against a better tester for the up and coming Sox, who failed badly in a 10-5 loss at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The slugging Twins are the measuring stick of where the Sox stand, and they made a quick statement on ace Giolito’s first pitch of a 60-game season
Home run, Jake Kepler. Seriously. And then a walk, followed by second baseman Leury Garcia mishandling the turn on what should have been a double play that would have cleaned up the inning, and more Giolito messiness in the form of a single, walk, wild pitch, sacrifice fly and a two-out, two-run single by Jake Cave.
It was 4-0 Twins before many fans could get settled in front of their TV sets, the only way to see baseball during the coronavirus pandemic. After the Sox settled for a run in a potential crooked number inning against Twins All-Star Jose Berrios, Kepler homered again in the second inning to put the Twins in front 5-1.
That’s when the Sox showed off their young talent, getting singles from Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert – on the first pitch Robert saw as a major leaguer – a second single by defending AL batting champ Tim Anderson and a tying three-run homer by Yoan Moncada in the second inning.
“Our talent’s through the roof,” Giolito, an All-Star in 2019, said Thursday.
“In year’s past, you could see the talent, but we weren’t quite putting it together. And now we’re starting to put those pieces together.”
Moncada (3-for-4) also doubled and singled, Robert added a double and Jimenez singled, doubled and walked, and while the Sox looked like a team that will score runs, run prevention will be an important part of putting it all together. The Twins broke the tie with a two-out, two-run single in the fourth by Jorge Polanco against Evan Marshall, the runs going on Giolito’s poor first pitching line of 2020: seven earned runs on six hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings.
The Sox were not charged with an error, but Garcia had a rough night at second base, muffing the possible double play, failing to smother an an RBI single by Eddie Rosario to his right and, by no fault of his own, having Nelson Cruz’ bad-bounce single go over his head in the Twins’ three-run seventh that put the Sox in a 10-5 hole. Manager Rick Renteria and general manager Rick Hahn cited Garcia’s offense to get the nod over prospect Nick Madrigal, the better defender.
Berrios pitched two scoreless innings after the Sox’ four-run second and the Twins bullpen strung together five more zeroes to drop the Sox to 0-1.
“Playing against the club that took the division is important in that we can go out there and see where we’re at,” manager Rick Renteria said. “We have to perform and execute. They’re a very good ballclub we have to put our best foot forward and see where we’re at right now.”
The Sox were 72-89 in the third year of their rebuild last season. They haven’t had a winning season since 2012 but believe they are on the cusp of changing that now.
As general manager Rick Hahn said Thursday, the Sox probably won’t hit their peak this season. Numerous players are still in early stages of development.
“As fine as Eloy was last year, there’s still some growth there,” Hahn said. “[Right-hander] Dylan Cease, there’s still room for growth there. Even [right-hander Reynaldo] Lopez, Tim Anderson and Moncada, we think there’s even more to each of those players. Certainly for a kid making his debut like Luis Robert, it may take a little bit of time for them to acclimate themselves to the big leagues.”
