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 Abreu hit a long first-inning home run to get Chicago's offense
going early as the White Sox beat the Twins 9-5 at Target Field.
After the first two batters of the game reached against Twins
starter Kevin Correia, Abreu belted a hanging curveball,
conservatively estimated at 427 feet, giving the Sox a 3-0 lead.
For Abreu, the home run was his 30th, coming in his 89th career
game, making him the third-fastest player in major league history to
hit 30 homers. He also became the third Cuban-born rookie to hit 30
homers.
"Baseball has been around a long time," said teammate Adam Dunn.
"There's been a lot of rookies come up, and for him to what he's
done and break all these records, I don't think anyone expected
that.
"But am I surprised by it? No."
The home run also extended Abreu's hit streak to 15 games, the
longest active streak in the majors. He has a hit in 33 of the past
34 games.
"That's a big home run to get us up in front," said White Sox
manager Robin Ventura. "The guy is a good hitter, that's the first
thing. We're past the point of unexpected with him. You just expect
him to be in the middle of things when they're happening. If he's
hitting well, it seems like we're doing well."
 It wasn't just Abreu that was doing damage at the plate for Chicago,
however.
Right fielder Dayan Viciedo tied a career high with four hits,
including his 20th double of the year. He also scored a run and
knocked in another. All nine starters reached base, eight had at
least one hit and six had multi-hit games as Chicago posted 17 in
all.
"We were hitting chalk lines, and hitting dribblers out in front.
You don't see that all that often," Ventura said. "It makes you feel
good when you're feeling optimistic going up to the plate and you're
gonna score some runs. You feel like you have a little luck on your
side too."
Chicago's luck was Minnesota's nightmare, as the Twins, with a
heavily taxed bullpen, desperately needed a long outing from
Correia. But he was only able to get through four innings, allowing
seven runs -- six earned -- on 10 hits and two walks. He took the
loss, his 13th defeat of the year.
"Not a very good baseball game, starting from the get-go," said
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "We all know the shape of our bullpen,
we had to leave him out there. The ball was flying all over, bloops,
blasts, the whole package. That's not gonna win you any ballgames."
Correia said it was two mistakes, one to Abreu and one to shortstop
Alexei Ramirez, who hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning
, just after the Twins had scored in the bottom of the second, that
he'd like to have back.
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"I made two worst pitches of the night to two of their best
players," Correia said. "I felt like I was making my pitches for the
most part. Physically, I feel good right now. It's just two bad
starts in a row now."
An error by Twins third baseman Eduardo Nunez allowed another run to
score in the third before the Sox tacked on two more in the fourth
on RBI singles by Dunn and Viciedo. Third baseman Connor Gillaspie
had an RBI single of his own in the sixth inning and catcher Tyler
Flowers added a solo homer, his sixth of the year in the seventh.
White Sox starter John Danks was the beneficiary of the offensive
explosion. He entered with a checkered history at Target Field, with
a 1-4 career record at the park with a 7.50 ERA in six starts. While
he wasn't great Friday, he was good enough, going seven innings and
allowing four runs on six hits, striking out five in winning his
ninth game of the year.
Twins left fielder Oswaldo Arcia and designated hitter Josh
Willingham each had solo home runs for Minnesota.
NOTES: The Twins have announced that LHP Logan Darnell will start
the game Saturday against Chicago. Scheduled starter Kyle Gibson
will have his start pushed back a second time due to a lower back
strain. Darnell has one game of Major League experience, a relief
appearance against Cleveland on May 6 where he pitched three perfect
innings. ... Twins RHP Kyle Gibson is scheduled to throw a bullpen
session Saturday. If all goes well, he will start Tuesday against
Kansas City. ... Twins 1B Joe Mauer took soft toss in the cages
prior to Friday's game. There is no timetable for his return from a
strained oblique that has had him on the 15-day disabled list since
July 2.
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reserved.]
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