The Minnesota Twins completed a three-game sweep of the White Sox thanks to a powerful performance at the plate and solid start on the mound.
The Minnesota Twins came into their three-game series with the Chicago White Sox looking for a better result than the one they had at Target Field last week. After dropping two of three games to Chicago in that series, the Twins got off to a positive note by picking up a victory in each of the first two games against the White Sox this time around.
With two wins already in their pocket, the Twins played with house money in the series finale at Guaranteed Rate Park. Armed with a fast start and a solid effort by Jose Berrios, the Twins pounced on the White Sox early and earned a 10-5 victory which clinched the three-game sweep.
As the Twins have done many times this year, they were able to barrell out of the gate to a commanding lead, but it wasn’t the way that Twins fans have been accustomed to. With six singles off starter Dylan Covey, Minnesota went back to their pirahna days by scoring four runs in the top of the first inning and a two-RBI single by Nelson Cruz in the second inning gave them a 6-0 lead.
By the time the third inning rolled around, the Twins went back to their powerful ways as Jake Cave and C.J. Cron smashed solo home runs to build the Twins lead up to 8-0 and Luis Arraez would drive in another run in the fifth inning to build a 9-0 advantage.
The nine-run lead was plenty for Berrios as he took a positive step after his recent struggles. For a pitcher that some considered to be their ace at the beginning of the season, Berrios wasn’t dominant but earned a quality start going six innings, allowing three runs with seven hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts.
The Twins would polish off the victory with more power at the plate as Jake Cave would hit his second home run of the day and seventh of the season in the seventh inning. Randy Dobnak would take care of the final three innings to secure the sweep and send the Twins off to Detroit.
Minnesota will open the three-game series against the Tigers on Friday when they’ll send Kyle Gibson (12-6, 4.49 ERA) to the mound. The Tigers will counter with Edwin Jackson (3-7, 8.70 ERA) for a 6:10 p.m. CT start in Detroit.