White Sox at Twins
Right-fielder Avisail Garcia looks to extend his hitting streak to 10 contests to open the season when his Chicago White Sox visit the Minnesota Twins for the second a three-game set on Saturday afternoon. Garcia posted a pair of hits in the 2-1 victory over the Twins on Friday and is 16-for-35 with eight RBIs to start the season after batting .245 in 120 games last season.
The White Sox have won three straight since a 2-4 start and allowed just 19 runs in the eight games since losing their opener to Detroit at home as they send Jose Quintana to the mound Saturday. Minnesota, which won two of three at Chicago last weekend, counters with Ervin Santana after he produced a pair of dazzling starts to open the campaign. The Twins have lost four of six since beginning the season with four straight victories and will need more from veteran Joe Mauer (.188 batting average) and former No.2 overall draft pick Byron Buxton, who is 3-for-37 with 20 strikeouts in the early going. Brian Dozier, who finished with 42 homers and 99 RBIs last year, is starting to warm up for Minnesota with five hits in 12 at-bats over the last three games.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), FSN North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox LH Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.17 ERA) vs. Twins RH Ervin Santana (2-0, 0.69)
Quintana pitched better Sunday against the Twins, allowing two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-1 loss. The 28-year-old Colombian, who won a career-high 13 games with a 3.20 ERA last season, was knocked around for six runs on five hits in his season debut against Detroit. Mauer is 13-for-40 with two homers and Dozier has gone deep four times versus Quintana, who is 6-7 with a 4.09 ERA all-time against Minnesota.
Santana is off to a strong start while allowing just one run on four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in his first two starts of the season as the team’s ace. The 34-year-old from the Dominican Republic shut out the White Sox over six innings Sunday on 87 pitches - 57 of them strikes - improving to 9-8 with a 3.66 ERA in 23 appearances (22 starts) against them. Jose Abreu is 6-for-12 with two walks and an RBI versus Santana, who owns a 19-15 record and 3.71 ERA all-time in the month of April.
WALK-OFFS
1. Chicago placed LF Melky Cabrera on the paternity list Friday and recalled OF Willy Garcia, who went 1-for-4 on Friday.
2. Minnesota 3B Miguel Sano walked twice in a 0-for-2 effort in the series opener, but leads the team with three homers and 11 RBIs.
3. White Sox 3B Matt Davidson has taken advantage of his extra playing time, going 5-for-14 with two homers and six RBIs over his last four games.