The White Sox conclude their 6 game road trip with a three game series in Minnesota against the Twins starting Monday. The Sox had a good series in Texas, taking 2 out of 3 from the 1st place Rangers, although they had a chance at the sweep and were shut down by Scott Feldman Sunday night.
The South Siders rebounded with a 5-1 week after the sweep in Detroit and reclaimed their spot atop the Central Division after their disastrous 3-7 road trip. Minnesota is coming off a dominating sweep of the Indians, outscoring the Tribe 28-6 in the three game series. The Sox swept the Twins last week at U.S. Cellular Field and look to continue their dominance over Minnesota. They have won 7 of the 9 meetings so far this year, a far cry from their past struggles with the Twinkies.
Pitching Matchups
Game 1 will feature a rematch of the 2nd game of last week’s series as Jose Quintana (4-1, 2.58 ERA) will face Cole DeVries (2-2, 3.64 ERA). The Sox have seen DeVries twice, including last week when he limited the Sox to 2 runs (1ER) on 7 hits in 6 innings. With the exception of a 7 run blow up against Oakland DeVries hasn’t given up more than 4 ER in any start this year. Like most Minnesota pitchers he will be around the plate; he has only walked 9 batters in 47 innings.
Quintana will get his 2nd start against the Twins this year. Last week he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in 6.1 innings. The Sox were able to come from behind and beat up the Minnesota bullpen to get him off the hook for the loss last Tuesday. Quintana battled in that start but was touched up for a pair of homers by Josh Willingham that accounted for all of the Twins runs. Quintana has been more human of late but has yet to have consecutive poor starts.
Limiting the middle of MIN’s order will be key. Credit: Austin Daily Herald
Game 2 will be the one to watch as Francisco Liriano (3-10, 5.31 ERA) makes his White Sox debut pitching against his old team. He will be opposed by Nick Blackburn (4-6, 7.99 ERA). The Sox have beaten Blackburn twice this season, scoring 14 runs in 9.1 innings against the Twins veteran right hander. Last week the Sox erupted for 8 runs on 10 hits in 4.1 innings against Blackburn en route to the sweep. The story was similar for Liriano in his last start. The White Sox got to him early and knocked him out of the game scoring 7 runs in 2.2 innings including 3 home runs. Liriano had been solid since his return to the rotation before that start, holding a very respectable 2.84 ERA and striking out 77 batters in 63.1 innings.
Wednesday’s finale features the best pitching matchup of the series as Jake Peavy (8-7, 3.15 ERA) will face Scott Diamond (9-4, 2.88 ERA) in an afternoon bout. The Sox will get their second look at the Twins surprising ace of the year. Back in late May the Sox beat Diamond scoring 5 runs (2ER) in 6 innings off the Twins lefty. Career against the Sox, Diamond is 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 3 starts. He has been very good at home posting a 6-1 record with a 2.28 ERA at Target Field.
Jake Peavy beat the Twins last Thursday going 6 innings and giving up 2 runs (1ER) on 6 hits with 6 K’s and 2 BB’s. He didn’t have his great stuff and threw a lot of pitches (121) in just 6 innings but was able to make pitches when he had to and finally got some run support. He will have to be on top of his game this time around with Diamond opposing him on the bump.
Keys to the Series
Liriano changes clubhouses: While it may not be a key to the entire series, White Sox fans are excited to get a look at their newest pitcher. It will be interesting to see how Liriano responds making his 1st Sox start in Minnesota against the team he has spent his entire career with. If he can keep his emotions in check he should be able to handle the Twins lefty heavy lineup and pick up the first win of his White Sox career. However if the moment gets to him and he starts thinking about it too much, we could be in for a blow up similar to his last start against the White Sox in Chicago. With the Sox holding out Chris Sale for at least one start Liriano will have to step in and contribute right away.
Scoring without the home run: The White Sox hit 8 home runs in their sweep of Minnesota last week. The difference between that series and this one is that this one will be played at Target Field and not U.S. Cellular Field which is averaging more than half a home run more per game this season.
Getting on base and running will be paramount. Credit: MNScore.com
The White Sox will have to manufacture some runs in this series and not rely on the long ball. While I certainly expect them to leave the yard at least a few times, they need to find other ways to score. Getting De Aza on base will go a long way to helping scratch a few runs across. Even just a change in approach at the plate can make a big difference. They have been swinging for the fences in Chicago and Texas. I don’t think they can afford to do that in Minnesota.
Pesky Twins: The best way to shut down the Twins offense is to keep their speedsters off the base paths. Denard Span, Ben Revere, and Alexi Casilla all have double digit steals. They will drop down a bunt, flip the ball the other way and run hard on any ground ball to try to get on base. While Sox pitchers have been better at holding runners this year but the Twins can still create havoc with their speed. They can also force your defense into mistakes, something the Sox have avoided most of the year. Keeping those guys off the bases will make it a lot easier to challenge their big hitters like Mauer and Willingham.
Expectation: The White Sox have been playing well and have handled the Twins all season. They are a long way away from when they used to walk into the Metrodome when you felt like they had no chance. The Sox starters will give them a chance to win and their bats should be able to do enough damage to back them up. I expect the Sox to take at least 2 out of three and come home with a winning road trip.
Of course you never know against any team let alone the Twins, but the Sox are a 1st place team, so it’s time to take care of business.
———
Posted by GSB! Contributor, Matt Hoeppner.