Twins Use Big Sixth Inning To Beat White Sox 8-3 in Shane Smith’s MLB Debut

CHICAGO – The streak was bound to end at some point, but the White Sox hoped it wouldn’t happen this way.

The Twins scored five runs in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 8-3 win, ending the White Sox streak of innings without an earned run by a starting pitcher to begin the season at 28. Through four games, White Sox starting pitchers Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin and Martín Pérez combined for 23 innings without allowing an earned run.

They set a high standard for Tuesday’s starter Shane Smith in his MLB debut, and he moved the White Sox up to fourth all-time in that statistic behind the 2015 Tigers, 1976 Brewers and 1963 Cardinals. Smith appeared to be cruising into the sixth inning with just 59 pitches, and he even retired the first two batters of the inning.

But after touching 97 miles per hour with his fastball in the first inning, Smith’s velocity fell to the low 90s.

“I was just getting out of the mechanics a little bit,” Smith said. “Whether I say I’m tired or I’m not, if I’m missing fastballs up, that’s an indication. I wanted the last guy. I think every guy wants their last guy. They don’t want to be pulled in the middle of an inning. I felt good for most of it, but didn’t throw strikes when I had to.

“We notice it,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “[Pitching coach] Ethan [Katz] noticed it right away and it was something that we wanted to check in and make sure that he was all right. He assured us that he was fine. And our guess was that it was the elements a little bit there, where he's usually up above 95. But yeah, that's something that everyone's got to deal with and certainly Shane did a good job battling that tonight."

Venable pulled Smith with 73 pitches after back-to-back two-out walks in the sixth. Smith struggled to find the zone as he threw just nine pitches in those two at-bats.

“With the two walks, we were ready with Murfee,” Venable said. “Really liked him in that spot. Shane had done his job for the night, and so we thought that was a good spot to turn it over to the bullpen.”

Penn Murfee came out of the bullpen and allowed four hits as the Twins scored five runs with two outs. Two runs were credited to Smith’s line, which finished at 5.2 innings, two hits, two earned runs, four walks and three strikeouts.

Murfee exited with three earned runs on four hits and did not record an out. Relief pitcher Fraser Ellard caught Edouard Julien attempting to steal home to end a five-run sixth inning that saw the Twins take a 5-3 lead.

“Certainly the cold probably plays a part with everyone's performance out there,” Venable said. “It can affect guys differently. [Murfee] was ready, he just wasn't able to make pitches, and he's one of the guys that we trust back there. And the next time we’re in that situation, we're confident he’s going to get the job done.”

The Twins found some gaps on balls that weren’t hit particularly hard off Murfee. Jose Miranda’s single drove in two runs to put the Twins ahead despite it being hit with just a 65 mile-per-hour exit velocity. But Murfee also hit a batter and left the game second-guessing some decisions.

"You want certain pitches back. After the first at-bat with a swing on the slider, in my head that calls for an adjustment in terms of what they might be looking for,” Murfee said. “Obviously it's no secret: my slider is my pitch. I don't think I did a good job of getting them off balance. Your job in that situation is to generate some swing and miss and I didn't quite get to that the way I wanted to."

Prior to the Twins’ big inning, there was a lot to like about Smith’s debut. After running into trouble in the first inning with runners on first and third, Smith painted a slider on the outside corner to strike out Ryan Jeffers and wiggle out of the jam.

“Especially just to throw the slider for the strike and get the take was huge,” Smith said. “Tried not to, that’s definitely not the end of the game after the first inning. You have to stay locked in. I knew what happen. I was excited about it, but the next inning is coming.”

Smith’s first career strikeout came earlier in the first inning as he fooled Carlos Correa on a changeup in the dirt. He fielded his position well in the second, bare-handing a soft ground ball from Ty France down the third base line and delivering a sharp throw to first base. Smith also showed off a lively fastball, striking out Miranda with a 95 mile-per-hour four-seamer at the top of the zone.

“A little shaky in the first hitter, but after that I settled in pretty good,” Smith said. “Tried to keep the emotions in check kind of leading up to today. I think I did a pretty good job.”

“The changeup in the first inning was a good weapon. I got away from it a little too much but throwing sliders for strikes, leaning on the curve ball a little bit later. Using the fastball.”

The White Sox acquired Smith in the Rule 5 Draft in December. The 6-foot-3, 24-year-old spent most of the 2024 season with Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, posting a 3.08 ERA with 106 strikeouts in 87.2 innings, and he was with the Milwaukee Brewers organization the first three years of his career. Smith also had an impressive spring training, striking out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and finishing with a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 innings.

That earned him a spot in the rotation and eventually his big-league debut with around 50 family members and friends in the stands.

“Just excited. Just really excited,” Smith said. “It’s the day you look forward to for a very long time. And to finally have it happen is pretty surreal. Just a lot of excitement.”

“Super fortunate to have that many people in my camp and family, friends, family friends. I’m extremely thankful to have them here. I think my old, two of my old summer coaches, were here. So really cool to see them. They have reached out from time to time over the years. To have them here is really cool.”

Shane Smith Chicago White Sox — Fans and family of Chicago White Sox pitcher Shane Smith (64) cheer as he pitches against the Minnesota Twins at Rate Field. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The White Sox gave Smith a bit of run support in the second. Andrew Benintendi continued his strong start to the season with a single to right field, and Brooks Baldwin drove him in by swatting a high fastball for a line drive up the middle. Baldwin is off to a hot start, too, with four hits in his first 11 at-bats.

He extended the lead with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Nick Maton gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead with a 401-foot home run in the fifth.

“He's been great,” Venable said. “He's always ready to hit. A lot of pop in his bat. Really happy with the way that he's put together at-bats here for us and a guy that's meaningful in the clubhouse, too. So really happy with Nick.”

But that lead quickly evaporated as the Twins exploded for five runs in the sixth. After scoring in three of the first five innings, the White Sox were shut out across the final four frames. The biggest scoring threat came in the eighth, when Andrew Vaughn started a rally with a single and Benintendi reached on a check-swing infield single that dribbled down the third base line.

But Correa made a full-extension diving catch to rob Miguel Vargas of a single, which may have driven in a run. The rally ended as Lenyn Sosa struck out on a sweeper in the dirt.

Left fielder Harrison Bader gave the Twins insurance with a three-run home run in the eighth off of White Sox righty Jordan Leasure to put Minnesota up 8-3. The wind had been blowing in and across from left field all night, killing a few potential home runs at the warning track, but Bader got enough of the slider that hung over the middle of the zone.

With this win, the Twins improve to 1-4 on the season while the White Sox fall to 2-3. The series finale is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT Wednesday at Rate Field.

Murfee threw two scoreless innings in his first two appearances with the White Sox, and he’s looking to shake off Tuesday’s outing with a long season ahead.

"I think we have 157 games left so keeping that perspective,” Murfee said. “When I gave up my first home run in the big leagues someone came up to my locker after the game and said hopefully it's not your last. Not that I ever want to repeat an inning like that, but taking everything with a grain of salt, you take what you can do better and you take what you didn't do well, you boil it down, you look at it from an X and O standpoint and you move forward, because dwelling on it ain't gonna do anybody good. It ain't gonna do the team good, me any good. So do my job and get better and keep going."

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