Chicago White Sox Split With Twins

By ESPN

Carlos Rodon has been pitching well enough lately to win. He finally got a long-overdue victory Monday.

Yolmer Sanchez homered and drove in four runs, Jose Abreu hit his 25th of the season and the Chicago White Sox held on to beat the Minnesota Twins 7-6 in the first game of a doubleheader.

Rodon (2-4) pitched effectively into seventh inning for the fifth straight outing to earn his first win since July 3. The left-hander allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out nine.

"Another nice outing, going deep into the game," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "We extended his pitch count a little more, but he was actually looking stronger at the end."

Rodon threw 115 pitches. Going forward, the 24-year-old is expected to be an important part of the rotation for a rebuilding Chicago team.

"I would have liked to have gone a little longer, but (the Twins) are a patient, good-hitting club and made me work," Rodon said.

Rodon, who didn't make his first start this season until June 28 because of left biceps bursitis, had been strong in no-decisions during his four previous outings. He has a 2.25 ERA in his last five starts.

Jorge Polanco hit a three-run homer for the Twins off Derek Holland to cut it to 7-6 in the eighth. Holland, who has struggled in 24 starts this season, was charged with three runs in one-third of an inning during his second relief appearance.

Juan Minaya worked a perfect ninth for his third save.

"Not the kind of excitement you're looking for," Renteria said, "but Minaya did a nice job to finish off for us."

Avisail Garcia had three hits and two RBI for AL-worst Chicago, which has won three of four. Abreu doubled and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He became the first White Sox player to hit 25 or more home runs in each of his first four seasons.

Eduardo Escobar, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton each drove in a run for Minnesota, which had won four straight and entered tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the second AL wild card.

Tim Melville (0-1) lasted just 3 1/3 innings and allowed five runs in his Twins debut after being recalled from Triple-A Rochester to start.

"To be able to be back up here is gold," said Melville, who was 0-1 in three games last season for Cincinnati. "Down in Triple-A, we're working hard, but it means a lot more to be up here."

The Twins jumped ahead 1-0 in the first on Escobar's RBI single.

Garcia's single in the bottom half drove in Yoan Moncada and Abreu to make it 2-1. Sanchez's three-run homer in the fourth, a few rows deep into right-center stands, stretched the lead to 5-1.

Abreu's solo shot and Sanchez's sacrifice fly in the fifth made it 7-1.

Rosario's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the sixth cut it to 7-2.

The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the seventh against reliever Danny Farquhar, but settled for one run on Buxton's sacrifice fly.

 After giving the Minnesota Twins a chance to come back in the opener, Jorge Polanco immediately drove them in the right direction during the nightcap.

Polanco hit his second three-run homer of the day as the Twins scored six times in the second inning and routed the Chicago White Sox 10-2 to split a doubleheader Monday night.

Brian Dozier added a three-run drive off Carson Fulmer during the rally, and Minnesota bounced back from a 7-6 loss in the first game. Byron Buxton and Jason Castro each added a solo shot for the Twins, who have won five of six. They are a half-game ahead of the Angels for the second AL wild card.

Polanco, who has five homers, hit a three-run shot off Derek Holland in the eighth inning of the opener to cut Minnesota's deficit to 7-6. In homering for the first time in back-to-back games, Polanco did it in consecutive at-bats -- and from both sides of the plate. He went deep right-handed against Holland and then left-handed vs. Fulmer.

"Polanco gave us life in the second game," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He got us going. And they weren't cheapies. He got a hold of both of them."

Dillon Gee (1-0) retired the first 12 Chicago batters before rookie Nicky Delmonico homered leading off the fifth. Gee allowed only two hits and walked none through six innings while striking out four.

"It was a long day for these guys," he said. "When they gave me a six-run lead, I just want to get it as fast as possible."

"I was just trying to be aggressive after that and just fill up the zone and not walk guys and make it quick," Gee added.

Adam Engel hit a solo shot in the ninth off Tyler Duffey, who followed Gee with three innings to earn his first save.

Gee was signed by Minnesota as a minor league free agent on June 22. The right-hander had made his previous start for Texas on June 6 against the Mets before being designated for assignment by the Rangers. He made his Twins debut on Aug. 3.

Delmonico has reached base in 18 of 19 major league games and hit six homers in that span.

Fulmer (0-1), who was recalled for the start and made his 2017 White Sox debut, gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings on four hits and three walks.

"They were on every pitch he was throwing," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "It didn't matter if it was a fastball or breaking ball, they were on time."

In the first game, Yolmer Sanchez homered and drove in four runs, Jose Abreu hit his 25th of the season and the White Sox held on.

Carlos Rodon (2-4) pitched effectively into seventh inning for the fifth straight outing to earn his first win since July 3. The left-hander allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out nine. He has 2.25 ERA in his last five starts.

"Another nice outing, going deep into the game," Renteria said. "We extended his pitch count a little more (to 115), but he was actually looking stronger at the end."

Juan Minaya worked a perfect ninth for his third save after Holland, who has struggled in 24 starts this season, was charged with three runs in one-third of an inning during his second relief appearance.

"Not the kind of excitement you're looking for," Renteria said, "but Minaya did a nice job to finish off for us."

Avisail Garcia had three hits and two RBI for AL-worst Chicago. Abreu doubled and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He became the first White Sox player to hit 25 or more home runs in each of his first four seasons.

Tim Melville (0-1) lasted just 3 1/3 innings and allowed five runs in his Twins debut after being recalled from Triple-A Rochester to start.

In the nightcap, Dylan Covey replaced Fulmer and allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Monday, August 21 Scoreboard

Chicago White Sox 7, Minnesota 6

Minnesota 10, Chicago White Sox 2

Baltimore 7, Oakland 3

Los Angeles Dodgers 6, PIttsburgh 5 (F/12)

Cleveland 5, Boston 4

Arizona 3, New York Mets 2 (F/10)

Seattle 6, Atlanta 5

Texas 5, Los Angeles Angels 3

San Francisco 2, Milwaukee 0

Tuesday, August 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at Philadelphia, 3:05 p.m.

Oakland at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

Boston at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

New York Yankees at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Arizona at New York Mets, 6:10 p.m.

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Seattle at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 6:35 p.m.

Minnesota at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Washington at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

Colorado at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

San Diego at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

Texas at Los Angeles Angels, 9 p.m.

Milwaukee at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.