Twice the Minnesota Twins came back from deficits to tie the game, but the Chicago White Sox were able to emerge from this rubber match with a 6-5 victory.
Robbie Grossman and Brian Dozier hit back-to-back home runs to come back from a 2-0 hole in the fourth inning, only to see starter Tommy Milone chased in the bottom frame.
“We got the back-to-back home runs to tie the game, and then the first pitch the next inning is a double,”Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Star Tribune. “You can feel momentum changes, that’s for sure.”
Milone’s ERA ballooned to 6.23 after being tagged for nine hits and five earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched on Thursday. Milone has dominated Triple-A this year, but struggled in the majors and Jose Berrios is waiting in the wings for another major league opportunity.
“I haven’t really gone there yet in my head or in discussions with people,” Molitor told the Pioneer Press. “He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities since he’s been back. I’m not sure exactly what the best thing is going forward right now.”
Eduardo Nunez drove in runs in the sixth and seventh innings to close out a 5-2 deficit, but he rounded first base too far and was caught in the seventh and Grossman was thrown out trying to take third on a bobble in left field.
“We talk with the guys about controlling your emotions,” Molitor told The Associated Press, “not letting whatever situation you’re involved with overwhelming you to the point that you lose clarity about what’s going on.”
Fernando Abad made his first appearance in eight days, issued a pair of two-out walks, and J.B. Shuck drove in Garcia to put the White Sox up for good in the eighth.
“It’s just not enough,” Brian Dozier, who has 11 straight games with an extra-base hit, told the Star Tribune after homering in the fourth inning and singling home a run in the sixth. “We’re giving up too many runs early in the ballgame, we’re still making mistakes on the bases, we’re costing ourselves.”
[Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, The Associated Press]
