Orland Park native Payton helps White Sox end losing streak at eight
MINNEAPOLIS - In his fifth organization in five years, Mark Payton has needed plenty of patience to make it back to the major leagues.
Just like his at-bat that led to the winning run and stopped the White Sox's eight-game losing streak.
Payton had 2 hits and an RBI and sparked an eighth-inning rally by reaching on an error in a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
"We always play this game to play in the major leagues, so I'll keep putting my best foot forward to be the guy here," said the 30-year-old Payton, who was recently called up by his hometown team.
Born in Orland Park, Payton went to St. Rita High School in Chicago. He was drafted three times, first by the Twins in 2010 and last by the New York Yankees in the seventh round in 2014 out of the University of Texas. After playing in parts of the last two seasons with Cincinnati, Payton hit .293 with 25 homers and 95 RBIs in 119 games this year for Triple-A Charlotte.
In the eighth, Payton fouled off seven pitches from Caleb Thielbar (4-3) in a 12-pitch at-bat that ended with a lazy pop-up to second base. But Nick Gordon, who had a 2-run double for the Twins in the first inning, flat-out dropped it for a two-base error.
"Keep battling. Just put the ball in play," Payton said. "I don't like to strikeout."
Payton moved up on a wild pitch before José Abreu ripped an RBI double. Liam Hendriks pitched a perfect ninth for his 34th save for the White Sox, who moved one game ahead of the Twins at 77-79 for second place in the AL Central. Cleveland clinched the division last weekend.
"We don't want to finish below .500, so we just keep grinding and try to end on a high note," starter Lucas Giolito said.
Both the White Sox and the Twins were mathematically eliminated from the wild card race on Wednesday by Seattle's win. The three-game series that the Twins and White Sox play next week at Guaranteed Rate Field to wrap up the regular season was made irrelevant earlier this month as both teams stumbled down the stretch.
The Twins lead 9-7 in the season series with the White Sox, whose losing streak had matched their season high.
Giolito lasted 5 innings with 2 runs allowed in his 29th start of the season for the White Sox, reducing his ERA to 5.00 - the lowest since mid-August - in what has been disappointing year for the 2019 All-Star to mirror the underachievement of the whole team.
Reynaldo López (6-4) pitched the seventh for the victory.
"Everyone, their arms are a little tired, but they're still battling in there. I'm proud of the pitchers. They've been going out there and doing their jobs," acting manager Miguel Cairo said.
Moncada update:
Yoán Moncada was on the bench for the second straight game with a bruised right foot from the foul ball that hit him there on Tuesday, but Cairo said he expects him to play again before the end of the season.