Minnesota Twins seek revenge in road series with Chicago White Sox
The Minnesota Twins missed an opportunity against the Chicago White Sox last week, but can they make amends in the Windy City this week?
The Minnesota Twins are in the heat of a race for an American League Central division title for the first time in nearly a decade. With the days in the 2019 season winding down, the Twins need to make every game count if they want to bring home their first division title since 2010.
For that to happen, the Twins need to take advantage when they play teams that are out of playoff contention. If this sounds like a broken record, it’s because this is the exact same situation Minnesota faced last week when they hosted the Chicago White Sox.
While the Twins own a 19-game lead over Chicago entering the opener of a three-game series on Tuesday, that didn’t seem to matter in last week’s series as the White Sox took two-of-three games at Target Field. Although the result was disappointing, the Twins rebounded to take two-of-three games over the Detroit Tigers over the weekend but will be looking for retribution and some room in the AL Central standings this week.
That doesn’t mean that it will be an easy task as the White Sox are playing great at the moment, taking two-of-three from the Twins and following that up by taking three-of-four games from the Texas Rangers last weekend.
If the Twins want to assert their dominance in the division, this is a series they have to win. If they can pull that off, they will have some breathing room as they inch closer to a crucial month of September.
Tuesday (7:10 p.m CT)
Michael Pineda (9-5, 4.26 ERA) vs. Lucas Giolito (14-6, 3.20 ERA)
In the third game of last week’s series, the Twins had the momentum coming off a 14-4 win over the White Sox. With the bats rolling, Minnesota figured that a tough test against White Sox ace Lucas Giolito wouldn’t be as daunting as it appeared and the Twins could escape Target Field by winning the series in the matinee.
The complete opposite result happened as Giolito threw one of the best games against the Twins all season. The White Sox ace threw a three-hit shutout that included 12 strikeouts and left fans wondering what happened to the lineup that scored runs at will late in a victory the night before.
Such will be the challenge against Giolito on Tuesday night. The right-hander has had three starts against the Twins this season and outside of a seven-run hiccup back in July, he’s fared pretty well against Minnesota, going 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA and a 23:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The good news for the Twins is they’ll have their top pitcher of late, Michael Pineda on the mound, who has been strong throughout the second half of the season with a 3-1 record and a 3.47 ERA in six starts. The right-hander also has a great track record against Chicago this season, going 3-0 with a 3.15 ERA and a 17:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 20 innings.
As is the case with any series, the opening game will be important, but if the Twins can get to Giolito, who allowed seven runs the last time he faced Minnesota at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 25, they should have a good chance of landing the first blow.
Wednesday (7:10 p.m. CT)
Jake Odorizzi (13-6, 3.57 ERA) vs. Ross Detwiler (2-3, 5.51 ERA)
As the Twins enter the second game of this series, one of the important storylines will be what version of Jake Odorizzi will the Twins get down the stretch. In his recent starts, Odorizzi hasn’t been the most efficient pitcher but has some sort of effectiveness. The only problem is that his last outing on the mound on Aug. 21 was neither efficient or effective.
The White Sox pounced on Odorizzi early and Jose Abreu was a menace driving in three runs and scoring another as the right-hander left after five innings allowing four runs. That would be all Chicago would need thanks to the dominant performance by Giolito, but it also raised a concern about Odorizzi’s consistency down the stretch.
When the Twins got off to their white-hot start, Odorizzi was one of the constants with an ERA under-2 and a performance that earned him his first selection to the All-Star team. Since then, things haven’t gone the way he planned with a 3-2 record and 4.46 ERA.
If Odorizzi can pitch well, he’ll have a plus matchup against Chicago’s Ross Detwiler. The right-hander has faced the Twins both as a starter and out of the bullpen this season and in three appearances, he’s allowed five earned runs in 10 innings, but has a respectable 1.10 WHIP and 1-0 record.
The good news here is that many players in the Twins’ lineup have had success over Detwiler in their career with Nelson Cruz leading the way. The Twins designated hitter has gone 5-for-7 against Detwiler with three home runs in his career while Miguel Sano (3-for-4) and C.J. Cron (6-for-11, 2 2B) have also enjoyed seeing him on the mound.
While Tuesday could be a toss-up, the Twins should be able to take this one if Odorizzi can turn in a better performance than his last time out.
Thursday (1:10 p.m. CT)
Jose Berrios (10-7, 3.53 ERA) vs. Dylan Cease (3-6, 5.76 ERA)
The latest chapter of the “What’s wrong with Jose Berrios” saga will take place on Thursday afternoon as the right-hander will take the mound looking to find his early-season form. The good news is that Berrios has regained the velocity on his fastball, but his effectiveness remains something to be desired.
Whereas the one-time ace was dominant at the beginning of the season, opposing hitters have seemed to figure Berrios out recently, as he’s posted an 8.44 ERA in five starts during the month of August. As one of the key reasons why the Twins didn’t pull the trigger on a deadline deal to acquire a starter, the Twins need to work quickly to fix Berrios as they head down the stretch.
Once again, the Twins will run into a plus matchup at the plate as they’ll face Dylan Cease. One of the White Sox’ top prospects had a difficult time with the Minnesota lineup the last time he saw them, as he completed five innings, but also allowed five runs in a 6-2 Twins victory on July 26.
One of the key blows in that game was a three-run homer by Max Kepler, which helped the Twins take an early lead and hold on for the victory. The key for the Twins will be to strike early and hope that Berrios has a get-right start to fuel momentum down the stretch.
Outlook
If there is one game where there is confidence the Twins will pick up the victory it will be Wednesday night’s game against Ross Detwiler. With the Twins’ collective success against the right-hander, they should be able to score some runs and at the very least avoid a sweep in Chicago.
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The key for the Twins will be the other two games as they’ll obviously need a better performance against Giolito on Tuesday and a better performance from Berrios on Thursday night. If the Twins can get just one of those outings to happen, they have a chance of taking two-of-three from the White Sox. They’ll just need to buck some recent trends to make that happen.