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Minnesota Twins series preview: Twins need to take advantage against White Sox

By Chris Schad

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 26: Nelson Cruz #23 of the Minnesota Twins hits a solo home run during the seventh inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 26: Nelson Cruz #23 of the Minnesota Twins hits a solo home run during the seventh inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 3: Kyle Gibson #44 of the Minnesota Twins pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Target Field on August 3, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 3: Kyle Gibson #44 of the Minnesota Twins pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Target Field on August 3, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

Monday: 7:10 p.m. CT

Kyle Gibson (12-4, 4.28 ERA) vs. Ivan Nova (8-9, 4.51 ERA)

It will be Kyle Gibson‘s turn to battle as he takes the mound for Monday’s opener with the White Sox. Gibson has put together a strong win-loss record of 12-4 this season, but his ERA has started to climb in recent outings with a 4.28 ERA. The veteran has also had issues throwing strikes with 11 walks over his past three starts. Although he has struggled, he’s had success against Chicago this season allowing one run in six innings of work with nine strikeouts on July 28.

His opponent will be Ivan Nova, who has turned things around significantly since the All-Star break. In seven starts, the right-hander has gone 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA while also fixing his control issues that plagued him at the start of the season. The Twins have seen this first hand as Nova tossed six innings allowing just one run in a win over Minnesota on July 27.

While Nova is a different pitcher, that may not matter to Nelson Cruz. The veteran should come off the injured list for this series (or very soon after) and has crushed a pair of bombs off of Nova with a .313 average and three RBI in his career. Jonathan Schoop has also seen success against Nova with a pair of home runs and three RBI, but has also struck out five times in 18 at-bats.

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