The Minnesota Twins earned a series split with the first-place Chicago White Sox with a 7-2 victory on Wednesday night.
The Twins got on the board first against Chicago starter Dylan Cease who allowed a solo home run in the third to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
Max Kepler strikes first!! đź’Ł@Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/7Uffw2sPEg
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 22, 2021
Adam Engel tied the game for Chicago with an infield single in the bottom of the third but it was the only blemish against Twins starter Michael Pineda.
Pineda allowed one run over five innings and struck out three batters but was pulled from the game after 73 pitches. The right-hander was still in line for the victory when Josh Donaldson drove in two runs with an RBI single in the fifth to put the Twins up 3-1.
With two men on in the top of the sixth, Polanco added insurance by smashing his 14th home run of the year to give Minnesota a 6-1 lead.
Polanco PUNCHES one out! đź‘Š@Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/zuWdbdIiiN
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 22, 2021
The Twins bullpen took over from there with 1.2 scoreless innings from Tyler Duffey and one run over 1.1 innings from Alexander ColomĂ©. Although Andrew Vaughn’s RBI double in the eighth chipped into the lead, the Twins were never threatened as Nelson Cruz added a sacrifice fly in the ninth and Caleb Thielbar nailed down the victory.
The Twins (41-55) will open a four-game series with the Los Angeles Angels at Target Field on Thursday night. Minnesota will send Kenta Maeda to the mound against Andrew Heaney for a 7:10 p.m. first pitch.
