LDN - Sports

Twins use three homers to down White Sox

[August 23, 2017] CHICAGO -- Kyle Gibson worked his way out of two perilous jams while long balls from his teammates provided relief Tuesday night.

The Minnesota Twins right-hander faced bases loaded with one out in the second inning and none in the third inning but escaped each time in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

"A lot of danger, really," said Gibson (7-10) who went on to work seven innings. "It doesn't really matter what team it is, it was a tough spot. But in that situation, you got to execute pitches and go one out at a time."

The Twins shrugged off an early deficit and hit three home runs on the way the victory.

Jorge Polanco, Kennys Vargas and Eddie Rosario each homered against White Sox rookie right-hander Lucas Giolito, called up Tuesday from Triple-A Charlotte for his Chicago debut.

The White Sox pushed across a first-inning run but came up empty on two early bases-loaded scoring opportunities and were shut out the rest of the way.

Gibson allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked just one for his first victory since beating the Detroit Tigers on July 22.

Giolito (0-1) worked six innings, allowing four runs and six hits. He struck out three and walked none while throwing 99 pitches.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria was pleased with the outing even as he wished his team had scored more for Giolito.

"I thought it was very positive," he said. "Lucas threw the ball very, very well. Fastball was very good, he was using his breaking ball ... He looked very, very good to me."

The victory was the second straight and sixth in seven games for the Twins (65-60), who are 13-4 in their past 17 games.

Chicago (48-76) dropped its second straight and is 3-8 in its last 11

Twins relievers Trevor Hildenberger and Matt Belisle worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings. Belisle gave up a hit but posted his fourth save.

Rosario clubbed his 18th homer of the season with one out in the sixth. His two-run shot to left scored Joe Mauer and gave Minnesota a 4-1 lead.

"Once Rosie (Eddie Rosario) hit that big homer it really allowed me to settle in a little bit and keep attacking," Gibson said.

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White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada (10) forces out Minnesota Twins catcher Jason Castro (21) during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as rookie Yoan Moncada doubled to right with one out, reached third on Jose Abreu's lineout and scored on Gibson's wild pitch with Nicky Delmonico at the plate.

Chicago loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Adam Engel struck out swinging and Leury Garcia grounded to second.

Moncada was perched at third with no outs in the third as the White Sox loaded the bases again before Gibson struck Avisail Garcia, Yolmer Sanchez and Tim Anderson to escape the threat.

"We had two innings where we had a great opportunity to open up that ballgame and maybe the outcome would have been a little different and it would have looked a little different for (Giolito)," Renteria said.

The Twins evened matters in the fourth on Polanco's leadoff home run to center, his sixth of the season.

In the fifth inning, Vargas belted an 0-2 pitch from Giolito for his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center that gave the Twins a 2-1 lead.

NOTES: Twins manager Paul Molitor, who celebrated his 61st birthday, appeared in 18 games on that date during his playing career, batting .264. ... Minnesota 2B Brian Dozier has eight doubles, 11 home runs, 20 RBIs and 19 runs in his past 24 games against Chicago. ... The Twins send RHP Ervin Santana (13-7, 3.33 ERA) against White Sox RHP James Shields (2-4, 5.72) on Wednesday. ... The White Sox recalled RHP Lucas Giolito from Triple-A Charlotte for the start. The No. 6 prospect in the organization, Giolito was acquired in December from the Nationals and was 6-10 with a 4.48 ERA in 24 Charlotte starts. ... The rare five-game series (which included a makeup game as part of the Monday doubleheader) concludes Thursday.

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