Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease’s ninth pitch while facing Kyle Farmer in the fifth inning could have been called strike three.

Instead, the high slider was called ball four.

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“It could have been called either way,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said.

A possible inning-ending strikeout/throw-out situation became two runners on with one out. Edouard Julien followed with a three-run home run, which helped propel the Minnesota Twins to a 4-0 victory against the Sox in front of 17,641 on Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Jorge Polanco also homered for the Twins, who took three of four in the series. It was the final division game of the season for the Sox, who finished 23-29 against the American League Central.

“We’ve got to do better in general against everybody,” Sox right fielder Gavin Sheets said. “Division, in division, out of division. We’ve just got to do better. That’s the main goal next year: win more games. Obviously in division you want to take care of, but just overall.”

The Sox (57-93) were blanked for the 12th time this season. Here are three takeaways from the series.

Sox center fielder Trayce Thompson drew a walk with two outs in the ninth on Sunday. It was the team’s only walk of the game.

The Sox walked just three times in the four-game series.

“Granted this team doesn’t walk that many guys,” Grifol said of the Twins, whose pitchers have the fourth-lowest walk total in the majors (411). “They are a pretty good strike-throwing team. We have to bear down on our at-bats and find a way to get to first base and create some free passes and get guys in when we have to.”

The Sox are last in the majors with 347 walks. It’s an area where the team must improve next season.

“It has to be a big part of our game,” Grifol said. “Any time there’s a rally somewhere, there’s a walk included. Most of the time. It’s very hard to string hits together, let alone three, four or five hits together.

“We chase a lot. We know that. It’s not a secret. We’ve got to home in on the strike zone, on our strike zone, on good pitches to hit and take the ones we can’t hit. If it means we take a walk, we take a walk. You don’t go up there to draw a walk. You go up there to hit, but you go up there to hit certain pitches you can hit. That’s how walks come about.”

Touki Toussaint lasted just one-plus inning in Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals.

The right-hander allowed eight runs, exiting after facing four batters in the second inning.

He rebounded nicely Saturday, allowing one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in five innings in the 7-6 win.

“In this game, it’s not about your last, it’s about what you do with your next opportunity,” Toussaint said Saturday. “Just bouncing back and giving the team a chance to win.”

Toussaint gave up the run in the first inning. He allowed just one hit while striking out six in his final four innings.

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“He just found the strike zone, found his mechanics, found his rhythm,” Grifol said. “He used his breaking ball early, which was good. His split was really good. He used his fastball to both sides of the plate.

“What Touki has shown us is he’ll have one inning here and there where he’ll lose it, but when he finds it he’s tough to hit because he’s got that breaking ball that’s a slower breaking ball that keeps guys off-balance and disrupts timing a little bit and he’s got that split that comes out like a fastball and tunnels really well. When he finds his rhythm and finds his release point and pitches, he’s pretty tough.”

Tim Anderson, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. were among the regulars the Sox rested on Sunday.

It was a bumpy homestand for the All-Star Robert, who went 2-for-24 against the Royals and Twins. He was 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts against the Twins.

“He’s had a couple of these runs throughout the year,” Grifol said before Sunday’s game. “You just don’t know when he’s going to break out of it. He’ll get a good pitch to hit, he’ll hit it out of the ballpark, and the next thing you know, he’s on a tear for five or six days. Very similar to the ones he’s had in previous months, he’s had about two or three of these, and he’s always one swing away.

“I just wanted to give him a break (Sunday) and get him ready for tomorrow (against the Washington Nationals). He was nursing a little bit of a rib that everybody saw me go out there (Friday), so erring on the side of caution for that. But it also gives him a break mentally. Just get back after it tomorrow.”