Minnesota Twins seek revenge in road series with Chicago White Sox
By Chris Schad
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.