Gibson cruises as Twins top White Sox 8-1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Gibson pitched seven strong innings, C.J. Cron and Ehire Adrianza each drove in four runs and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 8-1 on Saturday for their 10th win in 11 games.

Gibson (5-2) gave up five hits and walked none while striking out nine. His only blemish was José Abreu’s leadoff homer in the fourth inning. Gibson retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.

Adrianza had three hits, including his fourth home run of the season, while Cron and Jorge Polanco each had two hits for Minnesota.

Abreu doubled and homered for the White Sox, who have lost the first two games of the series.

White Sox starter Manny Bañuelos (2-4) was back after missing his last turn in the rotation with a sore shoulder. He got into trouble quickly by walking two straight batters with two outs in the first.

Cron appeared to bail out Bañuelos by hitting a high, short fly ball on a 3-0 pitch. But the ball drifted on right fielder Charlie Tilson, who staggered under it until it fell just out of his reach in the alley. The gift double gave Cron two RBIs and the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Cron took advantage of another unusual double — this time by Eddie Rosario — to drive in two more runs in the fourth. With Jonathan Schoop on first and nobody out, Rosario hit a pop fly down the right field line that fell just between Tilson and second baseman Yolmer Sánchez. Schoop reached third and Rosario scampered to second on the play.

Cron then drove them both in with a base hit. He later scored on a two-out single by Adrianza.

Abreu led off the fourth inning with his 13th home run of the season, hitting Gibson’s first pitch on a line into the seats in left-center. Only three other White Sox advanced as far as second base on the day.

Adrianza capped the scoring with a three-run homer to right in the eighth inning. It was Minnesota’s 102nd home run of the season, tops in the major leagues.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: SS Tim Anderson was a late scratch with a sore right wrist. He was hit there while swinging at a pitch on Friday night. C Wellington Castillo was placed in the 7-day concussion protocol after he took a foul tip off the mask in Friday night’s game. White Sox manager Rick Renteria said that Castillo began experiencing nausea and had a headache a few hours after the game. The team called up C Seby Zavala from Triple-A Charlotte to replace him.

Twins: Though DH Nelson Cruz (wrist) is eligible to return from the 10-day DL, the Twins have decided to give him more time before activating him.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (0-3, 5.31 ERA) is scheduled to face the Twins Sunday in the series finale. Covey, who made his major league debut at Target Field in a win over the Twins two years ago, is 0-2 with a 5.30 ERA in four appearances against Minnesota.

Twins: RHP Jake Odorizzi (6-2, 2.38) had won six consecutive starts before taking a no-decision last Monday at Anaheim. He gave up three hits and two walks over five scoreless innings in a game the Twins won 3-1.