Chicago White Sox: 2 Minnesota Twins hitters to worry about
The Chicago White Sox open a four-game series against their division rival Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night and will look to cool off a hot lineup. The Twins have won seven of their last ten games and are tied for fourth place with the Kansas City Royals in the Central. This will come after Monday night’s game is rained out.
The Chicago White Sox have lost seven of their last 10 games and have struggled to score.
The White Sox have been outscored 60-35 and have struggled mightily to hit the ball out of the park. Key hitters in the lineup such as Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada, and Tim Anderson have hit a combined three home runs in June.
Anderson has performed well at the plate this month, hitting .308 and producing a slash line of .308/.340/.407. Moncada has struggled this month, producing a slash line of .224/.354/.299. Abreu has struggled the most, posting a slash line of .181/.236/.277. On Sunday, Abreu was hit by a pitch on his left knee and is currently day-to-day.
The struggling White Sox offense is already without their sluggers Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. Nick Madrigal was batting .305 this season and the loss of the fierce two-strike hitting sparkplug to a torn hamstring has also weighed on the White Sox offense.
Heading into this series, the Twins have scored 52 runs over their last 10 games. Although the White Sox have had one of, if not the best, rotation in the American League, the offense has to step up to the challenge this week as they now only hold a 2.5 game lead over the second-place Cleveland Indians. As the Sox look to open this series with a win, they need to be on their A-game facing these hitters.
Miguel Sano has played very well against the Chicago White Sox this season.
One of the hottest hitters in the Twins’ lineup has been Miguel Sano. Over the last seven days, Sano is batting .625 with a home run, a double, and two walks in the three games he has played with an OPS of 1.125.
Against the White Sox this season, Sano is batting .267. He has hit three home runs and driven in four runs while producing a slash line of .267/.267/.867. Sano has also struck out five times in the first 15 at-bats against the White Sox this season.
The slugging first baseman is only producing a slash line of .196/.281/.437 but has hit 14 home runs and driven in 34. During the Twins’ recent hot streak, he has been hitting everything he sees and it is important for the White Sox not to let him beat them with the long ball.
Throughout 28 games on the road this season, Sano has hit poorly. He is producing a slash line of .147/.221/.333. The White Sox are also the best team at home in the American League with a 28-14 record. Sano has historically given the White Sox a bit of trouble but as long as the pitching staff keeps the ball in the park, the Sox have a chance at cooling off the hot slugger.
Josh Donaldson is someone the Chicago White Sox needs to watch out for.
Another hitter the White Sox needs to be careful with during this four-game series is the third baseman, Josh Donaldson. Over the last seven days, Donaldson is hitting .417 and producing a slash line of .417/.467/.667.
He has five hits, one of them being a home run while drawing two walks and driving in three runs. Over six games against the White Sox this season, Donaldson is producing a slash line of .227/.292/.364 with one home run while driving in five runs.
On the season overall, Donaldson is producing a slash line of .251/.346/.468 totaling 51 hits with 11 doubles and 11 home runs. He has also drawn 31 walks and driven in 30 runs. Donaldson is swinging a hot bat and is holding down the middle of the order in an all-around hot lineup.
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Donaldson has played much better on the road as well this season. He is producing a slash line of .295/.404/.516 away from Minnesota. If the Sox want to regain a strong lead in the Central division, they need to take care of business at home against a surging Twins team. With the dominant starting pitching and plethora of strong bullpen arms, the White Sox are poised to get back on track this week at home against the fourth-place Twins.