White Sox at Twins
Playing in front of a crowd for the first time in four days had an adverse effect on the Chicago White Sox, who attempt to bounce back from their most lopsided loss of the season in the second of a four-game series at the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Chicago ace Chris Sale was rocked for nine runs in three innings in Thursday's 12-2 romp by the Twins.
The White Sox had not seen fans in the seats since Sunday - two games at Baltimore were postponed due to riots in the city while Wednesday's contest was played in an empty stadium because of security concerns. The Twins, who lost two of three at Chicago in their second series of the season, pounded out 13 hits to leapfrog the White Sox for third place in the American League Central. Brian Dozier sparked the rout with a three-run blast, his first homer since going deep against Chicago in the fourth game of the season. Three-time batting champion Joe Mauer is on a tear with a trio of three-hit games in his last five.
TV: 8:10 p.m. EDT, CSN Chicago, FSN North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox LH Jose Quintana (1-1, 6.55 ERA) vs. Twins RH Kyle Gibson (1-2, 4.84)
Quintana came away with a no-decision despite an impressive performance last time out in which he held Kansas City to two runs on five hits over seven innings. It was a big bounce-back effort for the 26-year-old Colombian after he was battered for nine runs and 10 hits in four-plus innings at Detroit. Quintana has made 10 career starts against the Twins, logging a 3-2 record and 4.40 ERA.
Gibson continued his pattern of alternating good starts and bad, limiting Seattle to two runs over seven innings while not factoring in the decision last time out. The former first-round selection continues to battle with his control and has twice as many walks (12) as strikeouts (6) over 22 1/3 innings. Gibson has struggled against White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who is 3-for-6 with a homer against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mauer, who is 15-for-37 with nine RBIs over the past nine games, is 9-for-21 with a pair of homers against Quintana.
2. Twins RF Avisail Garcia is 9-for-25 during a six-game hitting streak.
3. Twins RHP Ricky Nolasco will come off the 15-day disabled list to start Saturday while LHP Tommy Milone moves to the bullpen.