Twins' pitching stumbles again, AL Central lead continues to shrink
The Minnesota Twins had more issues on the mound on Friday night as a pair of homers led the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory at Target Field.
The Twins sent Devin Smeltzer to the mound to start the game, but he didn't last long. The White Sox promptly loaded the bases against the left-hander in the first inning and Andrew Vaughn cashed in with a two-run single to put Chicago on the board.
Alex Kirilloff answered with a two-run double in the bottom of the first, but Smeltzer continued to struggle. After lasting just three innings, the Twins turned to Emilio Pagan for the fourth, who served up a solo home run to Tim Anderson that put the Sox ahead 3-2.
Tyler Duffey and Caleb Thielbar restored order with a pair of shutout innings but Griffin Jax ran into trouble in the seventh, teeing up a three-run homer by Adam Engel to effectively put the game out of reach.
While the Twins stumbled on the mound, the White Sox had better luck. Michael Kopech allowed just two runs over five innings before the Chicago bullpen held Minnesota to two hits over the final four frames.
After defeating the Twins for the second straight night, the White Sox climbed within three games for the lead in the AL Central. To make matters worse, the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Detroit Tigers, also putting them within three games of the division lead.
The Twins will try to create some breathing room on Saturday afternoon when Dylan Bundy opposes Lance Lynn.
