Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

Bailey Ober looked to build upon his first win of the season against the cellar-dwelling White Sox. The Sox put up a valiant fight, scattering eight hits across his six frames of work.

The biggest threats came early, with a Luis Robert Jr. double in the first inning that Ober managed to wipe out with an Andrew Vaughn fly out.

Then Chicago filled the bases with only one out in the top of the second inning. Again, Ober induced a fly out, but this sacrifice fly by Jacob Amaya plated the first run of the game and staked Chicago to a 1-0 lead.

Unearned Runs Still Count

Ober managed to limit the damage to that lone run, and the Twins immediately were able to capitalize on the first of two major defensive gaffes by the hapless White Sox.

After Larnach worked a leadoff walk against White Sox starter Davis Martin, Carlos Correa bounced into what appeared to be a tailor-made 3-6-3 double play, but second baseman Lenyn Sosa snuck in and tried to snag the throw instead.

Fortunately for the Twins, he failed, and the ball bounced away for an error.

Now with runners on the corners, Ty France came through with an opposite-field single to plate Larnach and tie the game at one apiece.

In the worst case of Groundhog Day possible for Martin, in the bottom of the third inning, Luke Keaschall worked a two-out walk. Keaschall then showed off his great speed, stealing his first of two bases on the evening.

Larnach hit a two-strike changeup a whopping one, count ’em (…er, it?), one foot.

Catcher Edgar Querro took that swinging bunt, and promptly chucked his throw into Larnach’s back. Keaschall’s speed was still speeding around third base, and he slid home while the Sox slept to stake the Twins to a lead that they would never relinquish.

The play could very plausibly have been called interference by Larnach, who was inside the baseline when the ball struck him, but that’s not reviewable, for good reason.

Martin left the game having surrendered two unearned runs, and the Twins and their desperate fan base could care less how they got the lead. The only question now was could they keep it?

Late-Inning Struggles

The Twins failed to get a baserunner over the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings in Atlanta, and their season’s OPS in the closing innings qualified them for dead last heading into this homestand.

Griffin Jax got his chance at redemption after his shaky recent outings, and notably, he was sent into the seventh inning to face the bottom of the White Sox order. Jax survived, and so did Louis Varland in the eighth, to keep the score 2-1 Twins—thanks to some sweet defense from Edouard Julien.

The Twins needed some insurance runs, and again it was a Keaschall walk that started the next rally in the bottom of the eighth, before Larnach earned all 434 feet of his next swing to make it a 4-1 ballgame.

That’s Why You Get Insurance

With the Twins up three runs, Jhoan Duran had an opportunity to acquire only the second save of the season with some breathing room to spare. After an infield dribbling single and two straight walks, suddenly there was no margin for error because the bases were loaded and nobody was out. Larnach’s homer allowed the situation to breathe, and Duran struck out Joshua Palacios and induced a groundout by Nick Maton. Now it was 4-2 Twins, with runners on second and third, and two out.

What happened next ended the game. Words can’t express what happened. Andrew Benintendi, meet Byron Buxton. He plays center field for the Minnesota Twins and he’s been healthy this season.

What’s Next?

The Twins look to take the series against the White Sox with righty David Festa (0-0, 0.00 ERA) getting the call for the Twins.

Chicago has yet to name their starting pitcher for game two of this series.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm CDT.