Twins go deep 3 more times in routing White Sox

[May 25, 2019]    Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler each hit home runs as the Minnesota Twins became just the second team in major league history to hit the 100-homer mark in the first 50 games of the season in an 11-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night in Minneapolis.

Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins, coming in off their second eight-homer game of the season in a 16-7 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, increased their 2019 total to 101. They joined the 1999 Seattle Mariners (102) as the only teams in major league history to hit the century mark in their first 50 games.

Rosario finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs, including a long double off the wall in right-center, for the 10th four-hit game of his career. Kepler, who was the team's designated hitter after bruising his right knee when he crashed into the fence in the ninth inning of Thursday's victory, finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

Minnesota, which improved to an major-league-best 34-16, has scored 300 runs this season and has produced at least 10 runs in a game six times.

Jose Berrios (7-2) picked up the victory, overcoming a four-run second inning that saw Chicago bat around. He allowed nine hits but just one earned run over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four without a walk.

Tim Anderson went 3-for-3 and Yonder Alonso had two RBIs for the White Sox, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Reynaldo Lopez (3-5) took the loss, allowing eight runs on seven hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three.

The Twins, who improved to 28-5 when scoring first, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out single by Rosario to drive in Kepler, who led off the inning with a double.

Chicago took advantage of a throwing error by shortstop Jorge Polanco on a routine grounder by Eloy Jimenez to open the second to take a 4-1 lead with three unearned runs in the second. Alonso had a two-run single, and Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu also had RBI singles.

The Twins cut the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom half on an RBI double by Byron Buxton, driving in Sano, who led off with a walk and went to second when Jonathan Scoop was hit by a pitch. Kepler followed Buxton with a sacrifice fly to drive in Schoop.

Minnesota took a 5-4 lead in the third on solo homers by Rosario and Sano, who hit the team's 100th of the season. Kepler made it 6-4 with his 11th homer in the fourth, which also featured an RBI double off the wall in right-center by Marwin Gonzalez and an RBI single by Rosario.

Kepler increased the lead to 10-4 in the fifth with a two-run single. White Sox right fielder Ryan Cordell mishandled Kepler's line drive in the seventh for an error, allowing Jason Castro, who had doubled, to score the final run of the game.

--Field Level Media

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