MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Alex Kirilloff hit a two-out, game-ending single after Byron Buxton led off the ninth inning with a tying homer, and the major league-worst Chicago White Sox fell to 3-20 with a 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
Chicago joined Cincinnati in 2022, Detroit in 2003, the St. Louis Browns in 1936 and the Cleveland Spiders in 1899 as teams to start 3-20. The 1988 Baltimore Orioles began 1-22.
“We’ve got to win games, man,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “Bottom line.”
Trevor Larnach hit a 433-foot, two-run homer in the eighth to get the Twins within 5-4 and help set up the heroics by Buxton and Kirilloff against Steven Wilson (1-2). Buxton hit a line drive off the left-field foul pole, and Kirilloff pulled the ball into right field to score pinch-runner Austin Martin with the winning run.
The Twins have won three of four after a five-game sk
Chicago joined Cincinnati in 2022, Detroit in 2003, the St. Louis Browns in 1936 and the Cleveland Spiders in 1899 as teams to start 3-20. The 1988 Baltimore Orioles began 1-22.
“We’ve got to win games, man,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “Bottom line.”
Trevor Larnach hit a 433-foot, two-run homer in the eighth to get the Twins within 5-4 and help set up the heroics by Buxton and Kirilloff against Steven Wilson (1-2). Buxton hit a line drive off the left-field foul pole, and Kirilloff pulled the ball into right field to score pinch-runner Austin Martin with the winning run.
The Twins have won three of four after a five-game skid.
“We’ve been putting in the work to snatch games like that,” Buxton said. “Those will be the wins that get us back on track and get us going.”
Kirilloff struck out four times before coming through with his second career walk-off hit.
Jay Jackson (1-1) allowed one run in two innings of relief for the Twins, striking out four.
Eloy Jiménez hit a three-run homer and starter Erick Fedde struck out a career-high 11 batters for the White Sox. Fedde allowed one run on three hits — all in the first inning — in his best performance since signing with Chicago during the offseason. The right-hander spent 2023 pitching in South Korea.
After his rocky first inning, Fedde retired the next 13 batters in order. That included two strikeouts each in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings.
“If you want to be successful,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said, “you’ve got to find ways to win games that are really not going your way and they’re stressing you in a tough fashion.”
