MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Twins reliever Justin Topa executed his pitch, jamming Chicago White Sox right fielder Brooks Baldwin with a cutter.
Baldwin’s bat broke, but he muscled the pitch just over the head of second baseman Luke Keaschall for a bloop single to right field.
A run scored on the hit, which extended the ninth inning for Michael A. Taylor.
“Any way you can get on base and try to move it to the next guy and the next guy moves it to the next guy, just down the line,” Baldwin said. “It was a good ninth inning.”
Taylor followed with a go-ahead two-run double as the Sox completed a stunning three-run rally on the way to a 4-3 victory on Wednesday at Target Field.
It was their first victory when trailing after the eighth inning since Aug. 6, 2023 in Cleveland. According to STATS, it ended a major-league-record streak of 205 consecutive losses in those situations.
Baldwin went 1-for-3 with one walk, an RBI and one run.
Baldwin made contributions through the first three games of the series against the Twins. He doubled twice, scored twice and had an RBI in Monday’s 6-5 win. Baldwin singled three times, scored once and had one RBI and one walk in Tuesday’s 12-3 victory.
“(He is) just barreling up balls, he hits the ball super hard,” teammate Andrew Benintendi said after Tuesday’s game. “He’s dangerous in the box.”
Baldwin came through again Wednesday with the ninth-inning RBI single.
“He can do damage and get to balls at the top of the zone, you still see the swings above the zone — which is fine,” manager Will Venable said before Thursday’s game. “(He) does a really nice job with the chase below the zone, saw that (Wednesday) night with the walk (in the second inning) where he took a really close pitch below.
“Just having more consistent at-bats where he’s making good swing decisions and selecting good pitches to swing at. It’s been good, and it’s really been consistent since he’s come back (from Triple A).”
Baldwin entered Thursday’s series finale with a .247/.297/.400 slash line, 12 doubles, nine home runs and 31 RBIs in 88 games. He is slashing .346/.414/.519 in 17 games since Aug. 16.
Last week, Baldwin described his 2025 to the Tribune as “a little bit of ups and downs, but just trying to keep it as consistent as possible.”
“Recently, it’s been pretty consistent as far as defense and at the plate,” Baldwin said. “Just going to work every day, just trying to stay level-headed. Because that’s all we can really do is get our work in every day and the results will come as they come.”
Baldwin, 25, said having the opportunity to play in the big leagues last year (33 games) benefited him this season.
“Getting that little bit of taste at the end of last year definitely helped me prepare,” he said. “Just the travel, the travel is a lot different. … Just keeping your body feeling the right way has been the biggest key for me.”
The Sox have utilized Baldwin defensively in a variety of ways. He has made 27 starts in left field, 14 in center, 10 in right and third base and five at both second base and shortstop.
“(I’m) just monitoring the daily pregame work,” Baldwin said. “Still getting ground balls just about every day and kind of taking some reps pregame, short reps in the outfield and then shag as much as you can during (batting practice) just to keep everything fresh.”
He has been called on to fill in at times while center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (left hamstring strain) and third baseman/first baseman Miguel Vargas (left hand sprain) recover from injuries.
Vargas said Wednesday that he’s “feeling better.”
“I’m seeing a lot of progress in my hand and I started doing more things and mobility with some weights,” Vargas said. “It’s a good thing, so hopefully in the next couple of days, I’ll start to swing the bat.”
With two key members of the offense out of action, Baldwin knows it’s important to try not to do too much in an attempt to offset the absences.
“It’s doing what you’ve been doing every day,” Baldwin said. “Just keep grinding away at-bats, keep having good at-bats every day and things will fall in place.”
Roster moves
Before Thursday’s game, the Sox recalled pitchers Jonathan Cannon and Tyler Gilbert from Triple-A Charlotte, designated pitcher Bryse Wilson for assignment and placed pitcher Bryan Hudson on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain.