The Twins made it two wins in a row on Wednesday after a convincing 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Jose Berrios gave the Twins another quality start and Josh Donaldson, who missed all of August with an injury, returned to the lineup and had two hits, including a double.
Berrios has been uneven this season, but he found a groove on Wednesday, striking out eight batters over six innings to improve to 3-3 on the season with a 4.29 ERA. Relievers Jorge Alcala and Devin Smeltzer closed out the game with three innings of scoreless baseball.
Berrios received plenty of support. The Twins had five extra-base hits, including three home runs from Jake Cave, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario.
Randy Dobnak gets the ball Friday against the Detroit Tigers.
Extra innings…
-The Twins are now 22-16, still 1.5 games back of the league-leading Cleveland Indians. After the Tigers swept the Twins in Motown, it’s time for a little payback. They play a doubleheader on Friday, then games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The Twins are 14-4 at home. A sweep or a series win gets the season turned around in a hurry.
-Potential bad news: Max Kepler and Luis Arraez left Wednesday’s game with apparent injuries.
-The White Sox clearly are a team on the rise, but boy do they need to work on their fielding. The Pale Hose committed eight errors over three games, including four in Wednesday’s loss. Four of the Twins’ eight runs were unearned.
-Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven announced he is leaving the broadcast booth after 20-plus years on the job.
Part 1 – For 25 years I have had the privilege to be part of the Twins broadcast team. Tonight sad to say will be my last Twins broadcast. But I will continue to serve my role as a Special Assistant for future years.
— Bert Blyleven (@BertBlyleven28) September 2, 2020
Thanks, Bert, for making me and my son’s first trip to Target Field a memorable one. You pelted us with grapes to get our attention, then threw us a signed baseball. That game was rained out, so we came back the next day and you threw us another signed ball. Thanks again.