Both the White Sox and Twins had bases-loaded-nobody-out situations early, and only managed to eke out one measly run out of it.
The Twins did a lot more around those half-innings.
Minnesota resumed pounding White Sox pitching after a one-day respite, with three different Twins taking four different White Sox pitchers out of the yard five separate times. Miguel Sanó greeted Iván Nova with a two-run blast the opposite way in the first inning, and they never trailed.
The White Sox only had one chance to get back in this, as Michael Pineda needed an inning to settle in. Leury Garcia and Yoan Moncada singled, followed by a Jose Abreu walk that loaded the bases with nobody out. James McCann expanded the zone to strike out, Jon Jay picked him up a little with a sac fly, but they couldn't get the crooked number the situation demanded.
But they would've needed a lot more where that came from, especially after the Twins brought the heavy artillery. Relatively speaking, Iván Nova held his own by doing his thing, which is giving up four runs over five to six innings. His day improved by comparison when the front-end of the bullpen came in. Josh Osich gave up an opposite-field homer to Max Kepler, Carson Fulmer gave up a no-doubter to Sanó, and then Jose Ruiz served up a 469-foot dong to Nelson Cruz, giving the Twins another two-homer game.
The White Sox could only scratch out single runs in the seventh and ninth, although at least Eloy Jiménez did the home fans a favor by hitting a crowd-pleasing blast of his own that one-hopped onto the concourse behind the bleachers in left. That also narrowed the deficit to seven, which is how many runs the White Sox have been outscored by in each of their four losses to Minnesota this year.
Bullet points:
*Jiménez also came up with a nice diving catch in left. I mean that sincerely. He got a good break on it, he took a straight line, and maybe a swifter outfielder catches it standing up, but Jiménez completed the play in the way his brand of athleticism allowed.
*Charlie Tilson, on the other hand, pulled up on a liner and still let it get past him for an error. Both Tilson and Cordell had problems committing to balls that fell in front of them. It's going to be six long weeks without Tim Anderson.
*Yolmer Sánchez had a busy day with six assists, a triple that almost turned into a Little League homer, and he reached on an error and made it to second. He still isn't breathing all that well.
Bullet points: 38-42 | Box score | Highlights
