The White Sox finally got that monkey off their back with a statement sweep of the Minnesota Twins, their first 3-game sweep against them since 2016.
After a 3-game sweep against the Kansas City Royals, the White Sox faced arguably their toughest test of the season thus far. Sure the Twins haven’t been playing well and would be without Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff, but the Twins have always been a notorious thorn in the side of the White Sox. For them to come out and sweep them in dominating fashion was an absolute statement.
Looking Like Baseball’s Best
The White Sox now own the best record in all of baseball at 22-13. They have won 6 in a row, and 8 of their last 10. Some may say that the Sox have only beaten the lowly Royals and Twins, and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Well for starters, you can only play who is on your schedule. Great teams take care of business against teams they should beat. The White Sox have done that the last week. Secondly, it’s how they’re winning. Today was more of a grinder win, but before that, the Sox had been blowing teams out on a nightly basis. This would reflect their MLB-leading run differential at +66. The next closest would be the Hoston Astros at +44. Everything is starting to click at the same time for the Sox, and when that happens, they’re going to be impossible to beat.
Doing It All Short-Handed
Let’s not forget that the Sox are doing all of this without Eloy Jimenez, and more recently, Luis Robert.
After the Robert injury, the team easily could have folded. I know a lot of us fans weren’t feeling too hot about the direction of the team after he went down. But since that injury, the Sox have responded with a 6 game winning streak and dominant pitching. Imagine this team firing on all cylinders in late August and then they add Eloy and Luis? That should terrify the rest of the American League. And let’s not forget that players like Lance Lynn, Billy Hamilton, and Tim Anderson have all missed time so far this season. Adam Engel hasn’t even played yet in 2021. The White Sox never folded through any of it and are now the hottest team in baseball.
What’s Next For The Sox
The team is currently in a stretch of 10 games in 9 days with the Royals coming back to town tomorrow for a double-header. The Sox will play tomorrow with Lucas Giolito getting game 1, and Michael Koopech taking the 2nd game. Carlos Rodon, one of baseball’s best pitchers, will start on Saturday.
In short, there is another great opportunity to put distance between the Cleveland Indians, who have now become the team’s biggest threat in the A.L Central.
Hawk Harrelson once said that you can’t win the division in April or May, but you can lose it. Not saying that the Twins are done, but 10 games back on May 13th is quite the hole to dig yourselves out of, especially with how well the Sox are playing.
Sox fans have long to hear it, but it looks like the South Siders are finally for real. The team is great, the clubhouse is oozing with chemistry, and they look like they’re having a blast. It’s going to be a fun summer on the South Side.
