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AL Central Notes

By Etheria Modacure

Apr 9, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Justin Upton (8) hits a double in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Justin Upton (8) hits a double in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 9, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Austin Jackson (10) Chicago White Sox left fielder Melky Cabrera (53) and Chicago White Sox right fielder J.B. Shuck (20) celebrate at the end the game. The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 7-3 at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Austin Jackson (10) Chicago White Sox left fielder Melky Cabrera (53) and Chicago White Sox right fielder J.B. Shuck (20) celebrate at the end the game. The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 7-3 at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports /

Chicago White Sox (5-2) After starting 2015 0-4, the White Sox have compiled its best start since 2012 at 5-2, and spoiled another team’s home opener this season after a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday. The White Sox have benefited from timely hitting, good starting pitching and a great effort from its bullpen during the last two games. Austin Jackson was able to extend a 1-0 lead against the Twins on Monday to 3-0 after a two-run single. This came after he just missed hitting a grand slam as the ball hooked in front of the foul pole.

The White Sox had Tuesday off, and will play 19 consecutive games starting Wednesday night in Minneapolis. Carlos Rodon will look for his first victory of the season, and another quality start. In his first start of the season against the Oakland Athletics, Rodon gave up two runs with six strikeouts over seven innings pitched. After the team concludes its series against the Twins on Thursday, they will travel to Tampa Bay for a three-game set against the Rays before returning home to play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday.

Kansas City Royals (5-2)

The defending World Champion Royals are off to another good start and have won four of their last five games to open the season. After splitting a brief series with the New York Mets, the Royals swept the Twins at home. The Royals began a road trip with the home opener for the Houston Astros on Monday. The Royals were drubbed by the Astros in an 8-2 loss, but they were able to respond accordingly with a tight 3-2 victory on Tuesday. Royals closer Wade Davis made things interesting in the ninth inning as he walked two batters after retiring Evan Gattis on a strikeout. Davis was able to retire Jose Altuve on a flyout and caught George Springer looking for a game-ending strikeout.

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Detroit Tigers (4-2)

Justin Upton endeared himself quite well to Tigers fans on Tuesday with a 4-for-5 performance at Comerica Park in an 8-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Upton started the game with a tape-measure home run of 452 feet to straight-away center field. The Tigers were coming off a loss to the Pirates on Monday and they were not only able to take advantage of Upton’s impressive day, they also got a solid outing from pitcher Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez pitched 5 2/3 innings and only yielded two earned runs with four strikeouts. The Tigers will face the Pirates again on Wednesday, but it will be in Pittsburgh.

Cleveland Indians (2-3) 

The Indians are favored to win the AL Central but they’ve gotten off to a poor start. With two of their games postponed last week, the Indians have played the least amount of games in MLB thus far. After splitting their first two shortened series against the Boston Red Sox and White Sox, the Indians started play in their next series against the Tampa Rays on Tuesday.

Corey Klueber pitched 7 2/3 innings against the Rays on Tuesday and only allowed a run in a 1-1 tie. However, that tie turned to a 3-1 deficit as Klueber was taken deep for a home run by Logan Forsythe to end his night. The Rays eventually beat the Indians 5-1 to send them under .500 for the second time this season.

Minnesota Twins (0-7) 

Apr 10, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pinch runner Terrance Gore (0) scores against Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Trevor May (65) from third base on a wild pitch in the tenth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City won the game 4-3. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pinch runner Terrance Gore (0) scores against Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Trevor May (65) from third base on a wild pitch in the tenth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City won the game 4-3. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

The Twins horrific start continued on Monday as they lost their home opener to the White Sox 4-1. Minnesota had a better chance of ending their losing streak this past Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. After a solo home run in the eighth inning by Brian Dozier, the Twins extended their lead to 3-1. Unfortunately for the Twins, they weren’t able to close the door on the Royals as the defending World Champions earned a walk-off victory on wild pitch by Trevor May at home in the tenth inning. Terrance Gore scored the winning run for the Royals.

The Twins are off to its worst start in franchise history, including when they played as the Washington Senators. With its seventh consecutive loss to begin the season, the Twins could have a hard time getting above .500. Although this isn’t a good start for the team, they did start 1-6 in 2015 before ultimately finishing the season at 83-79.

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