Martín Pérez Throws Six No-Hit Innings, White Sox Rock Chris Paddack in 9-0 Win Over Twins
CHICAGO – A first-pitch temperature of 39 degrees usually doesn’t make for a hitter-friendly environment, but on Monday the White Sox proved that isn’t always the case.
Tagging Twins starter Chris Paddack for nine runs in three innings and getting another strong outing from a starting pitcher, the White Sox cruised to a 9-0 win at Rate Field.
The lineup had a read on Paddack from the first pitch. Third baseman Miguel Vargas led off with a single, and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. followed with a walk. After going 1-for-12 in the Angels series, first baseman Andrew Vaughn belted his first home run of the season on a hanging slider to give the White Sox a 3-0 lead.
"We had a really good approach today, and the cold kind of a mindset,” Vaughn said. “You can't think it's cold out there, or else it's gonna beat you before you get on the field."
Outfielders Travis Jankowski and Michael A. Taylor began the second inning with back-to-back singles, and Robert added to the lead with a sacrifice fly. Designated hitter Andrew Benintendi blasted a changeup at the bottom of the zone 401 feet for the 100th home run of his career and second of the season, extending the lead to 7-0.
White Sox manager Will Venable said pregame he prioritized defense when crafting Monday’s batting order, citing Taylor’s inclusion, but it turned out to be a big day for the lineup. It was Taylor’s turn for a home run in the third, taking Paddack’s fastball 411 feet over the center field fence. The White Sox scored nine or more runs five times all of last season, but it took them just three innings to do so on Monday.
Going into the fourth inning, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli pulled center fielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Carlos Correa from the top of the order, a surrender or sorts. Paddack’s day was done after 3.1 innings with six hits, nine earned runs, four walks, two strikeouts and three home runs. For the second time in four games, the White Sox lineup faced a position player on the mound, and on Monday it was Willi Castro.
Meanwhile, Martín Pérez became the latest White Sox starter to impress. Through 17 innings in the first three games, starters Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon and Davis Martin hadn’t allowed an earned run – they were the 11th group in MLB history to do so – and Pérez extended that run.
He retired the game’s first 11 batters before walking designated hitter Ryan Jeffers and hitting first baseman Ty France in the fourth inning. Pérez tied his career high with nine strikeouts, which he’s accomplished four times in his career but not since Aug. 3, 2022 against the Baltimore Orioles. He finished with six no-hit innings and three walks, joining Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo in 2001 as the only MLB pitchers since 1901to throw six-plus hitless innings with nine-plus strikeouts in a debut with a new team.
Venable pulled Pérez after 93 pitches in six innings after some consideration.
“We talked about it,” Venable said. “He's done so much in his career, we just want to talk it through and give him the opportunity to at least discuss it. But it was the right thing for him, the right thing for our club to kind of move on there.”
“They asked me how I feel. I told them I feel great, but I was honest too,” Pérez said. “There’s no way I can go three more innings with that kind of pitches. It’s too early and I think it’s a long season. So, we have to think in the future, not now. But overall, it was a great game and we got the win."
On Sunday, Pérez said he considers himself a pitcher, not a thrower, in reference to the importance of hitting spots and keeping hitters off-balance. Monday’s outing was a prime example.
“It doesn’t matter how hard you throw. It’s where you are going to throw the ball, how you move the ball and change their balance and keep them,” Pérez said. “Timing is really good as a pitcher. Today was great for me, and overall everything was good.”
The no-hit bid lasted until there were two outs in the seventh inning, when Castro singled to right field off right-hander Mike Vasil, who made his MLB debut Monday. Vasil was aware that the no-hitter was alive, but he tried to keep that out of his mind as he entered a big-league game for the first time.
“Once I started to run out to the mound, I tried to stay as calm as I possibly could but that only goes so far,” Vasil said. “Obviously pitched before, but I think it’s a little bit different for your major league debut, so a couple deep breaths and tried to lock in and felt good.”
“I’m used to pitching in cold weather as well, being from the Northeast. But even regardless of that in your major-league debut, I wasn’t feeling a thing.”
With two scoreless innings from Vasil and a shutout inning from Brandon Eisert in the ninth, the White Sox have an MLB-low 0.76 ERA through four games. They’re the fourth team in MLB history to have their starting pitchers go five-plus innings without allowing an earned run in the first first four games of a season since earned runs became an official stat in 1913, joining the 2019 Blue Jays, 2013 Giants and 1976 Brewers.
Pérez has taken on a leadership role for a team looking to prove doubters wrong.
“I’ve been around for so long and I just want to tell the guys how they need to prepare and how long the season is,” Pérez said. “I remember there were a lot of people who say we are not a contender team, but now we show them that we are better than last year and we are playing better baseball.”
“I know it’s too early, but we are thinking of something special late in September. Let’s see how everything is going.”
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack