Behind Buxton, Twins top White Sox, snap skid

[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.

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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