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White Sox: Covey Pitches Well in Debut, South Siders Beat Twins 2-1 in Series Opener

By Rob Hill

Apr 14, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago White Sox left fielder Willy Garcia (61), center fielder Leury Garcia (28) and right fielder Avisail Garcia (26) celebrate after defeating the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The White Sox won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago White Sox left fielder Willy Garcia (61), center fielder Leury Garcia (28) and right fielder Avisail Garcia (26) celebrate after defeating the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The White Sox won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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White Sox make history on Friday in defeat of division rival Twins. Rookie pitcher has solid performance in first career MLB start.

Before even a pitch was thrown on Friday night’s game between the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins, the White Sox had made history.

For the first time in MLB history, no team has ever had three players with the same last name all start together for a full game; let alone all in the outfield. As much as the Sox would have preferred to make history in other ways, I’m sure they will take this in the meantime.

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The first pitch was pushed back from 7:10 to 7:45 due to rain, but it was the only delay during the game.

Dylan Covey was making his anticipated debut for the Sox and Adalberto Mejia was making his second start for the Twins.

Despite both having control issues all night, both pitchers matched each other pitch-for-pitch.

Covey allowed just one run over 5.1 inning along with three walks and just one strikeout. A Jason Castro RBI groundout was the only means of support for Minnesota all night. Covey featured a three pitch mix that he didn’t exactly locate well, but he stepped up when he needed too. Minnesota was 0-for-7 on the night with runners in scoring position.

Mejia, after getting blown out of the water by the Sox in his MLB debut last Saturday, was looking to rebound and record his first MLB win. Like Covey, Mejia did not feature great stuff, but it was enough to keep most of the Sox hitters off balance. The “Tres Garcias” all contributed against Mejia. Avisail Garcia pushed his hitting streak to nine with a single, Leury Garcia had a double, and Willy Garcia in his first ever MLB at bat recorded a double. Mejia finished his night with five innings of work with three walks and four strikeouts while allowing just one run.

Both pitchers received a no-decision in the game as it was a classic pitching and defense game all night long.

The tide finally turned in the game when Matt Davidson continued his torrid hitting to lead off the seventh inning. He took a 2-2 fastball from Twins reliever Ryan Pressly over the  right field wall at Target Field for a go ahead home run. The homer was Davidson’s third, which ties for the team lead, and grabbed the number one spot for team RBI’s with nine.

A fantastic White Sox bullpen took care of the rest. Coming into tonight’s game, the Sox had the lowest ERA in the American League, while having the second lowest bullpen ERA as well. It only continued as Dan Jennings, Zach Putnam, Nate Jones, and David Robertson combined for 3.2 shutout innings.

Robertson continued his early dominance Friday night. He recorded his third save of the year in three chances, and struck out out two more batters which gives him six on the year in just three innings pitched.

The 2-1 win pushes the Sox winning streak to three, and putting the Sox over the .500 mark for the first time this year.

Melky Cabrera was added to the paternity before the series opener Friday night and will not return until the Sox play the Yankees starting Monday.

Next: White Sox Start An All-Garcia Outfield Against Twins

What’s Next? 

It will be a battle of the aces on Saturday afternoon between the Sox and Twins. The Sox are looking to push their winning streak to four, as Twins ace Ervin Santana looks to pick up his MLB leading third win.

The aforementioned Santana (2-0 0.69 ERA) goes toe-to-toe with struggling Sox ace Jose Quintana (0-2 6.17 ERA). Both pitchers fared well in their last head-to-head start. Quintana is receiving his typical luck from the White Sox offense; getting just four runs of support over his first two starts. Santana will cross his fingers and hope he can receive the same support he has gotten through his first two starts (eleven runs over two starts). The game can be seen on the White Sox broadcast through WGN or WLS 890.

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