Sale moves to 7-0 as White Sox down Twins 7-2

CHICAGO – The White Sox rebounded from a first inning two run deficit after staff ace Chris Sale struggled with finding his spot on the inside part of the plate. Sale hit two twins batters in that inning, one being Byung Ho Park who would leave the game after being hit. Sale also hit Jorge Polanco and issue a walk to Oswaldo Arcia.

That would be all of the damage that the Twins did on the evening as Sale would turn on the cruise control and throw seven innings of three hit ball, allowing just those two initial runs while striking out nine Twins hitters.

The offense accounted for seven runs on 13 hits on Saturday night, with Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, and Dioner Navarro all registering multi-hit games. Chris Sale ran his record to 7-0 on the season, and bringing his ERA up just a smidgen to 1.79. The White Sox would go on to take game two of the series 7-2, setting up a sweep tomorrow afternoon at the Cell’.

Scoring Summary

1st Inning (Top): With the bases loaded for the Twins, Oswaldo Arcia drew a walk to give the Twins a 1-0 lead early on. Chris Sale hit the next batter in Jorge Polanco forcing home another run for the Twins. The Twins would hold a 2-0 lead after a half inning of play.

2nd Inning (Bottom): Dioner Navarro put the White Sox on the board with an RBI double down the left field line, White Sox designated hitter Avisail Garcia motored home all the way from first base on the play, cutting the Twins lead to just one.

3rd Inning (Bottom): In the bottom of the third inning White Sox slugger Todd Frazier smacked a solo homer into the left field stands, tying the ball game at two-a-piece heading into the top of the fourth inning.

4th Inning (Bottom): Austin Jackson gave the Sox their first lead of the ballgame in the home half of the fourth when he walked with the bases loaded forcing home Dioner Navarro, and giving the White Sox a 3-2 lead.

7th Inning (Bottom): Todd Frazier doubled to left field, plating Austin Jackson and extending the Sox lead to 4-2. Brett Lawrie would add an RBI single, and Avisail Garcia would force a run in with a hit by pitch with the bases loaded. The White Sox led 6-2 after seven innings.

8th Inning (Bottom): Jose Abreu would tack on one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning when he drove in Austin Jackson with an RBI single to right-field that plated Austin Jackson, giving the White Sox a 7-2 lead.

Escape Act

In the bottom of the seventh inning Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, and Avisail Garcia tacked on three insurance runs in a tight 3-2 ballgame. The White Sox added three more runs to their league leading total runs scored in the seventh inning or later.

Defensive Gem

Todd Frazier complimented his solo homer and RBI double with some more fine defensive displays on Saturday evening. Frazier made a diving stab to his left in the top of the fourth to take a base hit away from Oswaldo Arica, and the made another impressive play in the later innings.

Game Ball

Game ball goes to the ToddFather tonight, coming into the game Frazier was in a funk. Nothing fixes a funk like a game tying solo homer, and RBI double, and two defensive gems at the hot corner.

On Deck

Sunday 1:10 PM: Chicago White Sox (21-10) VS. Minnesota Twins (8-22)

Pitching Probables: Jose Quintana (4-1, 1.40 ERA) VS. Tyler Duffy (0-1, 1.74 ERA)

Broadcast Info: TV: CSN / RADIO: WLS 890AM