Royce Lewis went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and four RBIs as the Minnesota Twins pulled away for a 10-2 win over the White Sox on Friday in Minneapolis, sending Chicago to its 18th consecutive loss.
Willi Castro finished 2-for-5 with a two-run homer for Minnesota, which took the opener of a three-game series. Byron Buxton added a two-run shot, and Christian Vazquez had a two-run double.
Miguel Vargas socked a two-run homer for the White Sox, who managed only three hits while extending their franchise-worst skid.
Minnesota put the game out of reach by scoring six runs in the eighth inning.
Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (7-7) earned his first win since July 6 as he held Chicago to two runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out seven.
White Sox right-hander Davis Martin (0-1) allowed four runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. He walked three and fanned five.
Jorge Alcala, Griffin Jax and Trevor Richards combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief for the Twins. It marked the team debut for Richards, whom Minnesota acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays before the trade deadline.
The Twins grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to one swing by Lewis. He pulled a 409-foot, two-out shot to left field for his 12th homer of the season.
Vargas evened the score with a two-run homer for the White Sox in the third. The blast to left-center field marked Vargas’ first hit for Chicago, which acquired him in a three-way deal this week with the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
Lewis put the Twins back on top with a two-run double in the bottom of the third.
The score remained 4-2 until the eighth, when the Twins erupted for six runs against the Chicago bullpen. Vazquez started the scoring with a two-run double to left, and Castro followed in the next at-bat with a two-run shot to make it 8-2.
Trevor Larnach drew a walk, and Buxton finished the big inning with a two-run homer to center, his 14th long ball of the year.
–Field Level Media