[jksander]

April 14, 2026: Noah Schultz (0-1, 4.91 ERA, 11.0 IP, 14 K’s, 0.91 WHIP) got the start in game one against the Twins, facing Pablo Lopez (1-0, 0.93 ERA, 9.2 IP, 10 K’s, 0.83 WHIP) in front of 40,000 White Sox fans who have been awaiting their first look at this team on our own field. Heston Kjerstad hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to give us the lead, and Schultz was perfect until Royce Lewis hit a double with one out in the top of the fifth. Unfortunately the next batter, Ryan Jeffers, hit an RBI single to tie it up, and the NEXT batter hit a two-run homer to ruin the young starter’s night as we lost the lead to the Twins 3-1. He got through the rest of the inning, but five hits did him in as it was unlikely he’d be back out for more. Eduard Bazardo took over in the top of the sixth, trailing by a pair, and in the bottom of the sixth we got it tied back up when Kjerstad hit his second homer of the game, a two-run blast to make it a 3-3 ballgame! Bazardo got us into the stretch still tied, and Luis Sanchez came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, getting two outs before Joc Pederson hit a two-run blomb out of center to shoot the Twins back into the lead 5-3. But we weren’t done yet ... Chase Meidroth got us a run back with a groundout to first that scored Valenzuela, and Kjerstad hit an RBI single to tie the score up at 5-5 heading into the top of the ninth! Jose Alvarado took the ball in the top of the inning, striking out the side as we came back up hoping to end this quickly. Ceddanne Rafaela took a leadoff walk, but Tauchman struck out swinging and Vargas hit into a fielder’s choice, the Twins taking Rafaela out at second. Brandon Valenzuela came up big with a hit into right, a single that coupled with an E9 error allowed us to put two runners in scoring position with our two outs. Brooks Lee came out to pinch-hit for Yordys Valdes, and the wind almost carried his hit out of the park, but their center fielder Byron Buxton stole it at the wall. Once again, we’re headed for extras!

Ben Joyce took the ball in the top of the 10th with their pinch-runner Ryan Jeffers on second. Rafaela made a great catch off a hit by Edouard Julien, holding Jeffers at second, and MJ Melendez grounded out to first, their number one hitter Luke Keaschall promptly striking out swinging, bringing us up with the top of our order ready to hit in the bottom of the inning, speedster Brandon Lee on second and ready to go. With one out, Chase Meidroth grounded out to first and advanced Lee to within ninety feet of a walkoff, but Kjerstad popped out harmlessly to left and this one kept going. With two outs and the bases loaded, Joyce let Matt Wallner walk in the go-ahead, and Brandon Helsley took over from there, hoping for a quick end so we could hit again. He got it, striking out Jeffers swinging, and Bellinger led off in the bottom of the 11th with Kjerstad on second. Bellinger popped out to deep left, allowing Kjerstad to take third, and Ceddanne Rafaela hit a solid bouncer into center-right, a double that tied the score up at 6-6! But Tauchman struck out swinging and Vargas grounded out to first ... we couldn’t finish them off! With one out in the top of the 12th they again took the lead, this time the pinch-runner scoring off a flyball double by MJ Melendez. They then added on with two more off a triple by Carlos Correa before Helsley finished them off with a pair of strikeouts, bringing us up to hit trailing by three. With runners on the corners and two outs, Chase Meidroth damned near tied the game, but they caught the high flyball at the wall and this one ended as a 9-6 loss in 12 innings. Helsley took the loss, falling to 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA through six appearances and 6.2 innings, and Minnesota outhit us 11-7, spoiling a two homer night for Kjerstad,who had three hits, three runs and five RBIs to bring his average up to .279.
 
April 15, 2026: Sean Burke (0-1, 3.60 ERA, 5.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.00 WHIP) pitched against Joe Musgrove (0-1, 12.27 ERA, 3.2 IP, 4 K’s, 2.18 WHIP), and the Twins took the lead in the top of the first with a two-out solo homer by Joc Pederson. But we came up big in the bottom of the third, loading the bases and then shooting us into the lead with a two-run double by Bellinger! Kjerstad scored off a groundout by Rafaela, and Bellinger scored a fourth run when Tauchman reached first on an E8 error, and we went into the fourth inning leading confidently 4-1. Burke struck out the side in the top of the fourth, and Bellinger made a killer throw with two outs to peg their runner out at third from deep right field, the kind of play you rarely see! Julian Merryweather took the ball in the top of the sixth, still leading 4-1, and after he hit back to back opponents (including Joc Pederson who had to be pulled from the game with a concussion) we had to switch to Syndergaard with runners on first and second, one out -- Merryweather just cannot find his rhythm this year! Syndergaard stranded both runners, and in the seventh he got two outs before we went to Luis Sanchez with Ryan Jeffers on first. He got us into the stretch with the lead unchanged, and a sac-fly by Tauchman gave us a 5-1 lead heading into the eighth inning.

Jose Alvarado came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, but he had a total meltdown, loading the bags and letting a run score off a wild pitch. So much for our revitalized bullpen, because we keep blowing excellent leads ... this time Matt Wallner batted in two more runs with a single, and then he got himself together enough to strike out a pair, giving us time to bring out Eduard Bazardo with two outs, a man on first and a tenuous one-run lead. He got Jeffers to strike out, however, and we went into the bottom of the inning needing serious insurance. We were unable to buy any, however, even with Bellinger at the plate with two outs and loaded bases, so in the top of the ninth Ryan Helsley took over as we hoped to keep this lead safe long enough to escape with a win. It wasn’t easy, but he pitched around a pair of baserunners and did just that, as we held tough to the 5-4 win against a heated rival. Burke improved to 1-1 with the win, lasting five innings with four hits, six strikeouts and an earned run as he improved his ERA to 2.70. Merryweather, Syndergaard, Sanchez and Bazardo each had holds, and Helsley saved his first game of the year ... we outhit Minnesota 10-7, led again by Kjerstad who had four hits and two runs scored, improving his average to .333!

We claimed Minnesota starter Matt Canterino off waivers after the game, and he got told after we handed them the loss ... he packed his bags and joined our team immediately and I’m sure Miami is disappointed, knowing we beat out their initial claim to snag him. The 28-year-old has started two games for the Twins this year, putting together a 1-0 record with a 0.00 ERA thorugh 11 innings, striking out eight with a 0.73 WHIP ... that they’ve been good enough to need to waive a kid like him suggests this could be a real steal. We’re waiving Merryweather to make room for him, and Canterino will join our bullpen as a second long-reliever / spot starter alongside Syndergaard.

April 16, 2026: Drew Rasmussen (0-2, 10.29 ERA, 7.0 IP, 6 K’s, 2.57 WHIP) started his third game of the season, facing Joe Ryan (0-1, 3.38 ERA, 10.2 IP, 11 K’s, 0.94 WHIP). He got through the first inning with a pair of hits but nobody scoring, which was a huge relief and a lot of pressure off his shoulders ... two firsts in a row with five or more runs will do that to you. Too bad we gave him no run support early, so he had to really work the edges ... but he got through five scoreless innings. Matt Canterino came out in the top of the sixth, the game still scoreless, and with two on and two outs we had to go to Syndergaard, who did get the final out to keep us tied. Finally our bats woke up in the bottom of the inning, when Heston Kjerstad parted the red sea with a two-run homer out of center to put us up 2-0! Syndergaard got us into the stretch with the lead still safe, but our bullpen is absolute gassed so we were going to have to seriously play the game of our lives to hold it. Syndergaard was up to the challenge ... three quick outs in the eighth and then in the top of the ninth we met disaster as Byron Buxton hit a two-run homer to tie it up. Desperate, we had to bring out Brandon Pfaadt, who threw 88 pitches as a starter four nights ago, with nobody on and nobody out. He got a strikeout and two flyouts to get us into the bottom of the inning needing a walkoff more than ever before. Tauchman led off with a single and Valenzuela walked him into scoring position, and they had no choice but to walk Gallo too ... that brought up Yordys Valdes with loaded bases and no outs, the perfect recipe to snap him out of his hitting slump. Or, well, at least to get him to hit a sac-fly that drove in the winning run as we got out of here with a gassed bullpen and a 3-2 win!

Pfaadt only had to throw nine pitches and he got the win, improving to 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA ... he wasn’t next in the rotation, but it is definitely going to throw things off in his next-start preparations. We outhit them 8-3, led by Kjerstad with two hits, a run and two RBIs, and we had to make some moves ahead of tomorrow’s first game against Cleveland. Joshua Mears went down to the minors so we could call up Jonathan Cannon from AAA Charlotte as an extra arm. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to get a good start from Cease and let the bullpen rest some tomorrow, with Cannon then available to spot start in game two while we get our rotation rested.

Speaking of Cleveland, they’ll come into town with a sparkling 9-4 record, leading the second-place Royals by a game and a half. We’re still in fourth place but are only trailing Minnesota now by a single game, and our 5-7 record is certainly better than anyone expected with us playing our first nine games on the road.