White Sox at Twins
The Minnesota Twins answered a disastrous 1-5 mark over the last six contests of their recent homestand by winning five of six on their just-completed road trip. The Twins aim to give their home fans a thrill on Monday, when they begin a stretch of 13 straight contests against American League Central rivals with the opener of a three-game series versus the Chicago White Sox.
Jorge Polanco capped his third multi-hit performance during Minnesota's four-game sweep of Texas with a three-run triple that snapped a tie in the eighth inning of Sunday's 6-3 victory. The 26-year-old Polanco has recorded eight hits and scored as many runs in his last seven encounters with Chicago. The division-leading Twins, who hold a 2 1/2-game advantage over second-place Cleveland, have won 28 of 44 contests against their AL Central adversaries -- including seven of 10 versus the White Sox this season. Chicago's Eloy Jimenez belted a solo homer and ripped an RBI triple in a 9-2 setback against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, giving him three blasts and three multi-hit performances in his last five games.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH Ivan Nova (8-9, 4.51 ERA) vs. Twins RH Kyle Gibson (11-5, 4.28)
Nova tossed his second complete game in his last five starts and improved to 4-0 with an 0.49 ERA in that span on Tuesday after allowing one unearned run and four hits in a 4-1 victory over Houston. The 32-year-old Dominican also flustered Minnesota in that stretch, permitting an unearned run and two hits in six frames of a 5-1 win on July 27. Nova wasn't as fortunate in his previous encounter with the Twins on June 29, yielding four runs and seven hits -- two homers -- in six innings of a 10-3 setback.
Gibson will bid for his third win as many starts this season versus Chicago, against which he allowed one run and registered nine strikeouts in both an 8-1 victory on May 25 and an 11-1 shellacking on July 28. The 31-year-old has struggled to find the strike zone over his last two starts as he issued nine walks, although he only permitted three runs in his last outing -- a no-decision at Milwaukee on Wednesday. Gibson hopes to continue his magic at Target Field, where he has posted a 7-2 record while limiting the opposition to a .218 batting average.
WALK-OFFS
1. Twins INF-OF Marwin Gonzalez is 20-for-45 with two homers, 12 RBIs and seven runs in his last 11 overall games but just 4-for-31 with eight strikeouts against Chicago this season.
2. White Sox C James McCann has gone 10-for-23 with 11 RBIs and seven runs during his six-game hitting streak.
3. Minnesota DH Miguel Sano has recorded seven hits - including three homers - four RBIs and 10 runs over his last six contests.