Behind Buxton, Twins top White Sox, snap skid

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[September 02, 2020]  Byron Buxton returned from the injured list to go 2-for-4 with the game-winning RBI and also made a homer-saving catch as the Minnesota Twins rallied to snap their six-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Buxton, activated earlier Tuesday after recovering from left shoulder soreness, reached above the fence in left-center to rob Edwin Encarnacion of a home run in the sixth inning. An inning later, he drove in Nelson Cruz with a two-out single to break a 2-2 tie.

Cruz went 3-for-3 with a double while Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario each added two hits for Minnesota (21-16).

Caleb Thielbar (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Matt Wisler struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect ninth for his first save since 2016 and the second of his career.
 


Minnesota's Michael Pineda, making his first appearance since last Sept. 6 after serving a 60-game suspension for testing positive for a banned diuretic, produced a quality start. He allowed two runs on six hits and a walk over six innings while striking out four.

Tim Anderson went 3-for-4 and scored a run for Chicago (22-14), and Eloy Jimenez drove in two runs for Chicago, which lost for just the third time in the past 15 games. Jimmy Cordero (0-2) took the defeat.

Chicago grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out, two-run double to the wall in left-center by Jimenez. The hit drove in Anderson and Abreu, who had both singled.

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White Sox starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) pitches in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fifth. Polanco singled with one out, went to third on a single by Cruz and scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Marwin Gonzalez. Abreu dropped Nick Madrigal's potential double-play throw on what would have been a close play at first and was charged with an error.

The Twins tied it in the sixth on back-to-back pinch hits by Jake Cave, who tripled into the right field corner, and Luis Arraez, who followed with a double down the right field line.

Minnesota then took a 3-2 lead in the seventh. Cruz led off with a double into the right field corner off Cordero and scored two outs later on Buxton's single to left.

--Field Level Media

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