A trip to the North Side got the bats warmed up. Today, they kept on cooking.
For the second straight game, the White Sox put up multiple runs before their starting pitcher even took the mound. Facing Beau Burrows of the Twins, Tim Anderson (solo) and Eloy Jimenez (two-run) each homered in the first inning for the second consecutive game. Jimenez would later add a second homer, making it two straight multi-homer ballgames. Anderson ended the day with three hits, Luis Robert added two of his own in his return, and Yoan Moncada hit a moonshot to center to cap off the scoring late. All told, the White Sox knocked around 12 hits, and every starter except Leury Garcia had one.
On the other side of the ball, it was a Lucas Giolito bounce back performance for the South Siders. He faced the minimum through seven innings and had just one blip in the eighth on a Miguel Sano homer. Garrett Crochet struck out two in the ninth to close out what had already become a laugher of a ballgame.
With the win, the White Sox are 67-46 and maintain a 10.5 game lead in the AL Central.
W: Lucas Giolito (9-8) | L: Beau Burrows (0-1)
Savant Leaders
Notable Performances
Lucas Giolito: 8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 13 Swinging Strikes
As mentioned above, Lucas Giolito was absolutely dominant tonight. The Opening Day starter allowed just an infield single through seven innings before a Sano homer in the eighth. Giolito had his slider working tonight, with a 36% Whiff Rate on the pitch proving to be a big part of the stellar performance.
Tim Anderson: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 1B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Tim Anderson fell just a tripe short of the cycle in posting his second consecutive three-hit performance. Anderson has brought his average back up to .300 after tonight’s performance, and it’s pretty clear he fixed something in the cages before yesterday’s game.
Eloy Jimenez: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Eloy Jimenez seems to be pretty comfortable at the plate right now. He has two consecutive multi-homer games, and has a ridiculous 1.144 OPS on the season. If Jimenez can provide some of the power the Sox seem to have lost this season, this team is going to be especially dangerous in the playoffs.
Yoan Moncada: 2-for-5, HR, RBI, 2 R
Yoan Moncada has looked great at the plate recently, with not much to show for it. However, with two hits today, hopefully Moncada is turning the corner of his recent slump.
Luis Robert: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, K
Boy, is it great to see Luis Robert back on a baseball field again. This team is a Yasmani Grandal rehab stint away from full force for the first time this season…..
Next Game
The White Sox and Twins get right back to battle tomorrow night, and Dallas Keuchel will battle Griffin Jax.
The game will begin at 7:10 PM CT and will be broadcasted on NBC Sports Chicago.
