The one team that has had the Twins’ number all season? The Chicago White Sox. But this time the Twins turned the tables on them and won two of three games, including Wednesday’s 1-0 victory.
And two young pitchers are beginning to make a difference for the Twins.
Griffin Jax struck out 10 on Tuesday to help the Twins edge the Sox 4-3, then 6-foot-9 Bailey Ober pitched five-plus innings of shutout baseball on Wednesday. The bullpen also continues to make strides after really struggling earlier in the season. Caleb Thielbar got the win, Juan Minaya got four outs — three of them via the strikeout — and closer Alex Colome is finally looking more and more like a closer after he picked up his seventh save.
And who scored the only run on Wednesday? The hottest hitter in the lineup: Jorge Polanco, who hit his 21st home run in the sixth inning.
The Twins are off Thursday, then face the Tampa Bay Rays Friday, which marks the return of slugger Nelson Cruz. I expect Cruz to receive a hearty ovation. Michael Pineda gets the ball.
Extra innings…
-The Twins are now 6-13 against the South Siders this season. They also improved to 50-65 to inch their way out of the AL Central cellar.
-It’s a good thing the Twins won Wednesday because this date (or near it, anyway) in Twins’ history was rather depressing. On Aug. 11, 1982, Twins pitcher Terry Felton fell to 0-11 on the season. Felton pitched four seasons for the Twins and never won a game, finishing with a career mark of 0-16 with a 5.53 ERA. Felton made his major league debut on Sept. 28, 1979, and it all ended on Sept. 28, 1982. Originally from Texarkana, Arkansas, Felton is 63 today, according to Baseball-Reference.com.