Zebby Matthews had Twins fans buzzing at Target Field on Sunday, carrying a perfect game into the sixth inning before Drew Romo broke it up with two outs.
The right-hander needed 103 pitches, and he said afterward that the ovations from the crowd were something he had never experienced in his career.
He finished with a career-high eight and one-third innings, allowing just one run on five hits with five strikeouts and zero walks.
Minnesota jumped ahead early, as Josh Bell singled home Brooks Lee in the first and Trevor Larnach followed with a two-run double, then Bell added another RBI single in the third to make it 4-0.
Luke Keaschall padded the lead with a solo home run in the seventh, and Chicago's only run scored in the ninth off Matthews before Jeff Hoffman got the final two outs.
The final was 5-1, snapping a four-game losing streak that had Minnesota staring at a sweep.
The win pushed Matthews to 9-8 with a 4.58 ERA across 19 starts this season, easily his best outing yet.
Where This Leaves the TwinsThe win means more than just snapping a skid, because the White Sox are the team leading the American League Central, not scrapping for a playoff spot the way Minnesota is.
Manager Derek Shelton said afterward, "Extremely impressive. I mean, you're talking about a White Sox lineup that we've seen that can do a lot of damage, and they can do a lot of damage quickly, and extremely left-handed."
The Twins sit third in the Central at 65-72, seven and a half games back of Chicago, and the wild card picture is not much better.
Minnesota is four games behind Cleveland for the final American League wild card spot, and three teams currently sit between the Twins and the Guardians.
A month remains on the schedule, and Minnesota needs more days like Sunday for that gap to close.
Beating the division's best will not turn the season around, but it is the type of game Minnesota needs to keep stacking for September to mean anything.
The Roster Picture Behind the WinMatthews only has this rotation spot because of an injury elsewhere.
Joe Ryan, who owns a 3.65 ERA across 23 starts, has been on the injured list since early August with a strained left glute, and Minnesota recalled Matthews from Triple-A St. Paul that same week to take his turn.
Catcher Ryan Jeffers said afterward that Matthews has had the same stuff all along and that the results are only now catching up to him.
Minnesota also promoted outfield prospect Walker Jenkins ahead of this series as part of a roster shakeup aimed at the stretch run, and he started in center field on Sunday.
Detroit arrives for a three-game series that opens Monday with no day off in between, and Minnesota closes out its season series with the White Sox in Chicago the following weekend.
Jeff Hoffman, one of the trade deadline additions still finding their footing in Minnesota, closed out Sunday's win with the final two outs, a much steadier bullpen turn than the meltdown in Oakland that was part of this same four-game slide.
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