Twins newcomer Mick Abel roughed up in 7-3 loss to White Sox

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Aug 23, 2025

Published in Baseball

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Mick Abel’s debut with the Minnesota Twins was a dud, yielding six runs in three innings, and the Twins were handed a 7-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday at Rate Field.

Abel, one of the two players the Twins received from Philadelphia in the Jhoan Duran trade, was undone during a 39-pitch second inning. The 24-year-old right-hander gave up three singles and walked two batters before surrendering a grand slam to Colson Montgomery on a 97-mph sinker left over the middle of the plate.

It was a disappointing introduction for Abel, who made six starts with the Phillies earlier this year. Pitching with a one-run lead in the second inning, Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. opened with back-to-back singles.

Sandwiched between two strikeouts, Abel gave up an RBI single to Chase Meidroth on a 0-2 curveball at the bottom of the strike zone. Abel had a chance to escape with the score tied, but he walked consecutive batters, including Miguel Vargas with the bases loaded.

That brought up Montgomery, who hit a two-run homer off Zebby Matthews on Friday. Montgomery didn’t miss a down-the-middle pitch and blasted it 412 feet. Montgomery has 12 homers and 32 RBI since the All-Star break.

Abel, who made three strong starts with the Class AAA St. Paul Saints after he was traded to the Twins, allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out two.

The Twins scored their three runs on solo homers from Kody Clemens, Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis. Reliever Thomas Hatch, who replaced Abel, permitted three hits and one run in five innings, which included a solo homer to Robert in the eighth inning.

Turning point

After falling into an early five-run deficit, the Twins had an opportunity to climb back in the fifth. There were two runners on base and one out against White Sox starter Davis Martin with the top of the lineup due for their third plate appearances.

Martin didn’t flinch. He struck out Byron Buxton, drawing a pair of whiffs with his cutter, and he induced an inning-ending flyout vs. Trevor Larnach despite leaving a sinker over the heart of the plate.

The Twins totaled seven hits, but they didn’t have any baserunners reach third base, excluding the three solo homers.

What does it mean?

Abel’s success is largely dictated by his ability to avoid walks. He had a rough 2024 minor league season because his walk rate spiked. In seven major league starts, he’s delivered four outings with one or fewer walks, and three games with two or more walks.

In the four outings, Abel hasn’t walked more than one batter, he’s allowed six runs in 19 1/3 innings (2.79 ERA). The other three starts, filled with multiple walks, he gave up 14 runs in 8 1/2 innings (14.53 ERA).

He’s done a much better job at limiting his walks this year, reclaiming some of the prospect hype he lost, but that’s been a longtime key for his outings.

Stat of the day

Wallner crushed a solo homer in the fourth inning, pulling an elevated cutter over the right field fence. It was Wallner’s 17th home run of the season, but notably, it was his 12th with no runners on base.

There are 87 major league players with at least 17 home runs this year and Wallner has the fewest RBI (29) among that group. In fact, he’s the only MLB hitter with 17 homers and fewer than 42 RBI.

Up next

Taj Bradley, acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade for Griffin Jax, is expected to make his Twins debut after he joined the team in Chicago. Bradley, who was in Class AAA to work on his splitter after his strikeout rate plummeted, had a 6-6 record and a 4.61 ERA in 21 starts with the Rays this year.

The White Sox will counter with right-hander Yoendrys Gómez in Sunday’s series finale at 2:10 p.m. ET. Gómez, who has never faced the Twins, is on his third team this year and converted from a middle relief role into a starter midseason. In two starts since joining Chicago’s rotation, he is 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA.

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