CHICAGO — Byron Buxton hit the second pitch of David Sandlin's major league career 417 feet to center field. The White Sox had a 1-0 deficit before the crowd had settled in, and their 25-year-old debutant was already in a hole.
He didn't allow another runner the rest of the night.
Sandlin retired 18 consecutive Twins after the Buxton homer, finishing six innings and picking up his first win as the White Sox beat Minnesota 15-2 on Wednesday at Rate Field. Chase Meidroth hit the first grand slam of his career in the seventh. Munetaka Murakami followed it with his 20th home run of the season. The White Sox had 18 hits and led by double digits before the eighth inning began.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| CHW | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | 15 | 18 | 0 |
Sandlin
Sandlin's first pitch was called a strike — Minnesota challenged it and the call was overturned to a ball. His second pitch, a 97.2-mph four-seam fastball, Buxton lined to center for his 17th homer of the season. Welcome to the majors.
"I feel like that kind of took the weight off, almost," Sandlin said. "I was like, 'Man, it can't get worse than that,' you know? Like, 'Let's go now. Welcome to it,' I guess."
He went on to retire the next 18 Twins in a row — the first White Sox pitcher to do that in his major league debut in at least 100 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He struck out four and topped out at 99.3 mph across six innings and 61 pitches. The Twins managed one hit. It was not a close game after the first inning.
Manager Will Venable pulled him after the sixth despite Sandlin wanting one more. The plan coming out of Triple-A Charlotte had been five innings or 85 pitches; Wednesday was the first time he had gotten to a sixth. "Of course, I tried to get one more," Sandlin said. "But I knew, like, it was it after he talked to me. But after that, it was just a surreal feeling."
Rate Field gave him a standing ovation when he left.
Venable was direct about what he saw: "Just incredible. He was effective in the zone with all his pitches. There was some swing-and-miss there, he gave up a lot of fly balls. He attacked the zone in every way he wanted to."
Sandlin was acquired from Boston in February as part of the deal that also brought Jordan Hicks to the South Side. He was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday when Noah Schultz went on the injured list with right knee patellar tendinitis. He is the 10th White Sox player to make his major league debut in 2026 — which, per Elias, ties the 2025 Athletics for the most by any team before June since 2000.
The Seventh Inning
The White Sox were leading 9-1 when Meidroth stepped in with the bases loaded against Travis Adams in the seventh. He drove a 400-foot shot to center — his first career grand slam, his fifth home run of the season, and the moment that turned a comfortable lead into a rout.
Murakami stepped in immediately after and sent a 432-foot opposite-field shot to left center. His 20th home run of the season, third in three consecutive games. He is tied with Yordan Alvarez for the American League lead.
Murakami joined Jim Thome, who hit 20 homers in 2006, and Frank Thomas, who hit 21 in 1994, as the only White Sox players to reach 20 before June. His 20 home runs through his first 55 career games rank third in MLB history, behind Cody Bellinger's 22 in 2017 and Wally Berger's 21 in 1930 — and are the most by any MLB rookie before June since 1901.
Earlier in the game, in the sixth inning, Murakami stole second standing up — his first career stolen base. "The steals are a bit different in Japan than here in the Majors," he said. "I didn't think the catcher was going to throw it to second, so I ran through it. But I got to keep learning and adjusting to the Major League kind of style. Next time I'll try to slide."
The Rest of It
Connor Prielipp had no answer for this lineup. The Twins rookie lefty lasted 4.1 innings, allowing 8 hits and 6 runs — a season high in both — against five strikeouts and three walks. His ERA rose to 5.13.
Sam Antonacci went 3-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run single in the second that he grounded off Prielipp's glove. He was 3-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Randal Grichuk had three hits and drove in two. Montgomery, Quero, and Peters all scored multiple runs. The White Sox went 8-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
Buxton's homer was his 24th career leadoff shot, four behind Brian Dozier's Twins franchise record. Kody Clemens added a solo homer in the eighth off Brad Eisert. By then it was over.
Pitcher Stats
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | PC-ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandlin (W, 1-0) | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 61-41 |
| Eisert | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29-18 |
| Richards | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4-4 |
| Prielipp (L, 1-3) | 4.1 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 93-58 |
| Orze | 1.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29-19 |
| Adams | 1.0 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 33-17 |
| Arcia | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14-6 |
What's Next
The White Sox and Twins close out the four-game series Thursday at Rate Field. Davis Martin (7-1, 2.04 ERA) starts for Chicago against K. Rojas (1-0, 1.26 ERA). First pitch is 1:10 p.m. Central.