White Sox at Twins
The Minnesota Twins hope to have the opportunity to extend their winning streak to four games on Saturday, but their contest against the visiting Chicago White Sox again is in jeopardy due to snow after Friday's contest was postponed. Minnesota recorded its third straight victory on Thursday, a 4-0 triumph in the opener of its four-game series against Chicago.
Jose Berrios and Joe Mauer were the stars for the Twins, as the former recorded 11 strikeouts and allowed only three hits over seven innings while the latter registered three RBIs on two hits - including the 2,000th of his career. Mauer became the third player in Minnesota history to reach the mark, joining Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett with a two-run single in the seventh inning. The White Sox were limited to three singles on Thursday as they suffered their sixth loss in seven games. Nicky Delmonico recorded one of those hits and is 7-for-19 over his last six contests while Tim Anderson also singled to extend his hitting streak to five games.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox TBD vs. Twins RH Lance Lynn (0-1, 5.00 ERA)
Chicago manager Rick Renteria has yet to decide on a starter, but all signs point to either Reynaldo Lopez or Miguel Gonzalez. The 24-year-old Lopez, who was slated to pitch on Friday, has been superb in the early going - allowing two runs (one earned) and four hits with 11 strikeouts over 13 innings but walking seven in two starts. Gonzalez originally was scheduled to start on Saturday after being tagged for 10 runs (nine earned) and 16 hits over 9 1/3 frames in his first two turns of the year.
Lynn will be looking to last more than five innings for the first time with his new team as he makes his third start of the season. The 30-year-old native of Indiana, who logged at least 175 innings in each of his last five campaigns with St. Louis - eclipsing 200 twice in that span - allowed five runs on three hits and six walks over four frames of a loss at Pittsburgh in his season debut. Lynn, who is 1-0 with a 1.40 ERA in three career turns versus Chicago, walked four and yielded three hits over five scoreless innings in a no-decision against Houston on Monday.
WALK-OFFS
1. Twins OF Byron Buxton has been successful on 28 consecutive steal attempts and has recorded 45 stolen bases in his career while being caught only five times.
2. Chicago is 3-for-46 with runners in scoring position over its last six contests, stranding 49 over that span.
3. Minnesota optioned OF Ryan LaMarre, who went 4-for-8 with an RBI in six games this year, to Triple-A Rochester on Friday.