The Minnesota Twins activated RHP Jake Odorizzi from the 10-Day Injured List (IL) so he could start tonight’s 3rd game of this 4-game series against the Chicago White Sox. They also activated C Alex Avila. To make room for those moves, they optioned both RHP Randy Dobnak & 2B Travis Blankenhorn back to their Alternate Training Site in St. Paul.
Twins Lineup:
RF Max Kepler
3B Josh Donaldson
DH Nelson Cruz
LF Eddie Rosario
1B Miguel Sano
CF Byron Buxton
2B Marwin Gonzalez
SS Ehire Adrianza
C Alex Avila
White Sox lineup:
SS Tim Anderson
1B Yasmani Grandal
DH Jose Abreu
LF Eloy Jimenez
3B Yoan Moncada
C James McCann
CF Luis Robert
RF Nomar Mazara
2B Nick Madrigal
Odorizzi pitched well but had an issue with a cut & a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. He ended up leaving with 2 outs in the 4th and had allowed just 2 hits and 1 run which he allowed in that 4th inning, a HR (16) to DH Jose Abreu, but the Minnesota Twins had already given him a 3-run lead with HRs from Eddie Rosario (11), a solo shot to RF to lead off the top of the 2nd, & Byron Buxton (10), a 2-run shot just over the reach of White Sox CF Luis Robert over the center field wall in the top of the 4th.
The Twins bullpen pitched 5.1 innings of hitless & scoreless ball while allowing no walks and striking out 7.
RHP Cody Stashak relieved Odo in the 4th & needed just 2 pitches to strike out James McCann after taking over the at-bat due to the injury. He then pitched the next 2 innings before RHP Tyler Duffey took over in the 7th. Duffey went 2 innings and struck out 2.
In the top of the 8th inning, Miguel Sano came to the plate against RHP Matt Foster and he sent his 12th HR of the season to the left center field seats to give the Twins a 5-1 lead and allow them to go to RHP Trevor May in the 9th and he struck out the side to end the game and give Cody Stashak his 1st win of the season.
The Twins will send RHP Kenta Maeda to the mound tomorrow afternoon for the final game of this 4-game series and the season series. A win would bring the Twins back to within 1 game within the Division lead but the White Sox have played 2 less games than the Twins.
The White Sox send RHP Reynaldo Lopez to the mound for his 3rd start against the Twins this season. He’s 0-2 against the Twins with a 19.29 ERA & a 4.714 WHIP because in 2.1 innings (0.2 in his 1st start & 1.2 in his 2nd start), he’s allowed 7 hits 7 runs (5 earned runs & 2 HRs) & 2 walks while striking out 2. In that 1st start, he got the 1st two batters he faced out then went walk, 2B, walk, HR (Grand Slam), 1B, pulled. In the 2nd start, he allowed back-to-back 1Bs then a walk to load the bases but got a strikeout and a GIDP to get out of it. His 2nd inning went similar to his 1st start against the Twins, 1st two batters out then…HR, walk, error, 2B.
Both HRs came off the bat of Twins OF Jake Cave & those are his only 2 HRs of the season in the only at-bats he’s had against Lopez so he’ll likely be in the lineup.
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