The Chicago White Sox ended their series in Houston on a high-note against the Astros earlier this week, but they’ve fallen back to Earth over the weekend as they’ve dropped their first two games against the Minnesota Twins.
In his first start back from the injured list, Manny Bañuelos gave up five earned runs in four innings of work, and was tagged with his fourth loss of the season. Things didn’t go much better for the Sox bullpen, as Kelvin Herrera gave up three earned runs in the eighth inning of the contest.
Kyle Gibson pitched seven innings and allowed just one run for the Twins, who moved their home record to a sparkling 17-8 on the season.
Ehire Adrianza hit his fourth home run of the season and drove in three runs, while C.J. Cron went 2-for-3 and drove in four RBI for the Twins in the victory.
The lone White Sox run of the day came off the bat of José Abreu, who hit his 13th home run of the season in the fourth inning. He has also driven in 42 RBI so far this season, putting him in second place in the American League on the year.
The game stayed close for a while, with the Twins carrying a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning, and then their offense clicked into gear and rocketed past the White Sox. Cron singled to left field, driving in a pair of runs, and then Adrianza added another RBI single to make it a 5-1 game.
In the eighth inning, Adrianza struck again, launching a home run to deep right field to score three more runs and put the Twins ahead by an 8-1 margin, which would prove to be their ultimate margin of victory.
Chicago Baseball
The clubs will wrap up their three game series at Target Field on Sunday as the White Sox look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the American League Central Division leaders. The White Sox will send Dylan Covey to the mound in the finale, which starts at 1:10 p.m.
