White Sox finish the first half with a needed series win

MINNEAPOLIS – The situation as a whole isn’t what they were hoping for when they started the 2022 season, but in the context of what’s happened, it could have been worse.

The White Sox have endured an uneven first half of play this season which has left them chasing first place in the American League Central division instead of holding it nearly the entire time. That’s not what was expected out of the reigning champions, who were the popular pick to run away with the division before the season.

But despite having their fair share of struggles and injuries, the White Sox still find themselves in the thick of the race to repeat, with the team helping themselves over the course of four days in Minneapolis.

An 11-0 win on Sunday afternoon over the Twins helped the team take 3-of-4 games from the AL Central leaders and pulled themselves to within three games of first place at the All-Star break.

The team finished a critical eight-game road trip to finish out the first half with a 5-3 record, having split a four-game series with the Guardians earlier last week. It certainly brightens the outlook for the club in what has been a frustrating first half where the team has performed well under expectations.

One player that hasn’t is the one who helped them get the victory on Sunday and probably should have been named an American League All-Star: Dylan Cease. The pitcher had another outstanding effort as he pitched seven shutout innings while allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts compared to just one walk.

While improving to 9-4 on the season, Cease also took the Major League Baseball strikeout lead with 150 on the season. He also reached the 500 strikeout mark, becoming the fastest to reach that in White Sox history.

The White Sox will be right back to work against the AL Central as they’ll face the Guardians for a four-game series starting Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field. They’ll have work to do to get where they want to be, but they did some work to get there this weekend.