Two charter members of the American League — the Washington Senators and Chicago White Stockings (better known today as the Twins and White Sox) — met on Friday and the Twins emerged victorious in a nervy 9-7 win at Rate Field, which is a modest improvement over Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Twins held an 8-4 lead going into the eighth inning, courtesy of a Royce Lewis grand slam, the sixth slam of his young career, and then the bullpen nearly coughed up the lead and the game.
Reliever Genesis Cabrera loaded the bases, then he stepped aside for Justin Topa who walked in a run and served up a hit and the South Siders closed the gap to 8-7. But in the ninth, Byron Buxton drove in the ninth run of the game and Topa closed it out for his third save of the season.
The Twins will try to make it two wins in a row on Saturday. A starter has not been named.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 59-69.
–Not only did Lewis hit a grand slam, he also threw out a runner at home to preserve the Twins’ one-run lead going into the ninth inning.
–Buxton scored the 500th run of his career on Friday and joined some pretty exclusive company in the process. In addition to the 500 runs, he also has hit more than 150 home runs and swiped more than 100 bases, which makes him one of only three Twins to accomplish the feat. The other two? Torii Hunter and Kirby Puckett.
–The pitching victory went to lefty reliever Kody Funderburk in relief of starter Zebby Matthews who had an off night. Zebby’s line: four runs allowed on eight hits across just four-plus innings with three walks and four strikeouts on 93 pitches.
–That’s right: The Twins can beat the White Sox. Since 2023, the Twins are 26-7 versus the South Siders.
–The White Sox unveiled new uniforms on Friday, a mashup between the baseball team and the Chicago Bulls. It was not a good look.
–Pitcher Shane Bieber, who won a Cy Young in Cleveland before suffering through some injuries and being traded to the Blue Jays, made his first start since 2024 on Friday and was sharp. He allowed a run on two hits across six innings with no walks and nine strikeouts. The Blue Jays have got to be thrilled with that performance as they head down the stretch.
–Toronto leads the American League East with a record of 75-54, five games better than the second-place Boston Red Sox.
–The American League was formed in 1901. The charter members and the teams they eventually became: Baltimore Orioles (Yankees); Boston Americans (Red Sox); Chicago White Stockings (White Sox); Cleveland Blues (Indians, Guardians); Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers (Orioles); Philadelphia Athletics (Athletics) and Washington Senators (Twins).