The Twins were slammed by the White Sox 13-8 Wednesday night in Chicago to fall nine games behind the division-leading White Sox in the AL Central.
Nelson Cruz homered in the first inning and the Twins wound up scoring 8 runs but the offense couldn’t keep pace with a Chicago lineup that plated two runs in the first and second innings, five in the fourth, two in the fifth and one more in the sixth inning.
Twins starter J.A. Happ gave up nine earned runs on nine hits and two walks in just three and one-third innings, and the bullpen’s struggles continued as Shaun Anderson, making his season debut for Minnesota, was hammered for four runs (only one earned run) in two innings.
Minnesota racked up 13 hits and was 5-of-12 with runners in scoring position. Josh Donaldson led the way with three hits while Cruz, Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco and Luis Arraez all had two hits apiece.
More good news for the slumping Twins is that Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff are making progress from their injuries and could be back in the lineup in the coming days.
