MINNEAPOLIS — The Chicago White Sox led by two runs, but the Minnesota Twins were threatening with runners on the corners and one out in the sixth inning Friday at Target Field.
The Sox called on Grant Taylor to replace fellow reliever Hagen Smith.
Luke Keaschall hit a sharp grounder to first. Munetaka Murakami made the quick decision to step on the bag and then throw to the plate, where catcher Drew Romo tagged out Trevor Larnach for an unconventional inning-ending double play.
“Thankfully Mune had a great play, great tag from Romo,” Taylor said.
Taylor pitched a career-high 2 2/3 scoreless relief innings and was credited with the win as the Sox defeated the Twins 7-4 in front of 28,140.
The right-hander struck out three and surrendered one hit in the outing.
“Grant was incredible,” manager Will Venable said. “He’s just pounding the zone. He’s got really good stuff. It was 2 2/3, 27 pitches. So that’s a big ask, but he’s just so efficient. It obviously saved the day for us there to transition out of Hagen and then bridge it to (Bryan Hudson).”
The Sox (71-63) bounced back after seeing an early four-run slip away.
And they extended their lead in the American League Central to 3½ games over the second-place Cleveland Guardians (68-67), who lost 3-0 to the Kansas City Royals. The third-place Twins are 7½ games back.
Center fielder Tristan Peters saw his franchise-record-tying streak of consecutive games with a home run end at five. But shortstop Colson Montgomery provided early offense with a three-run home run as part of a four-run first inning.
All four Sox runs in the first were scored with two outs. Miguel Vargas singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an Andrew Benintendi single. Braden Montgomery singled and Colson Montgomery followed with the three-run home run, giving the Sox a 4-0 lead.
White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery rounds he bases after hitting a three-run home run in the first inning against the Twins on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Ellen Schmidt/AP)
White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Twins in the first inning Aug. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Stephen Maturen/Getty)
“I feel like the past couple games, my decision-making and my process and approach at the plate has been a little more consistent,” said Colson Montgomery, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. “Obviously still have some at-bats where you don’t have results. I just try to go up there, stay positive, be on the attack, do what I do.
“And for me, to come up tonight and be productive and driving in runs, it means a lot.”
The Twins struck back with three runs in the bottom of the first. Brooks Lee hit a two-run home run and Kody Clemens had a solo home run, bringing the Twins within 4-3. The Twins pulled even in the second inning on Lee’s RBI single.
The Sox jumped back ahead in the third inning on a Benintendi RBI single. The next inning Peters — who went 1-for-4 with a single — scored on a passed ball, extending the Sox lead to 6-4.
Sox starter Luis Castillo got the Sox out of a jam in the bottom of the fourth.
The Twins had two on with no outs. Castillo made his best pitches of the night. Keaschall lined out to left field. Lee and Ryan Jeffers popped out to shortstop Colson Montgomery and the catcher Romo, respectively.
Castillo allowed four runs on eight hits with one strikeout and one walk in four innings.
“At the beginning of the game, I was trying to be perfect with every pitch and then I made a couple of mistakes,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “In that fourth inning, the last two innings (of the outing), I was just trying to perform.
“I wasn’t thinking of being perfect with the pitches, but just throwing it with confidence and I was able to hold them there.”
Taylor helped the Sox escape trouble in the sixth, with the play by Murakami and Romo.
“Great job fielding the ball cleanly, number one,” Venable said. “And then just good baseball IQ and knowing that’s a timing play if he goes after the runner at second base, once he does step on first base, so really good awareness.
“On the baserunning side, Larnach, that’s his job is to go and make him make a play there. So, just a good baseball play.”
The Sox tacked on an insurance run when Chase Meidroth scored on a wild pitch in the eighth on the way to improving to eight games over .500 for the first time this season.
“There was no panic at all,” said Colson Montgomery, who also pointed to the strong showing from the bullpen. “It was one of those things where it’s just like, ‘All right, team: They punched back.’ And it’s like what our coaches and Will and our hitting coaches, everyone tells us, is just, don’t be complacent. Especially in a game like this, divisional game where these games matter and we need to win these.
“We’re not going to back down.”