Twins defeat White Sox in rubber match, lose a pair of key players due to scary injuries

Minnesota Twins Baseball Logo
Minnesota Twins Baseball Logo

On Wednesday afternoon the Minnesota Twins took down the Chicago White Sox 3-1 in their series finale.

Twins starting pitcher Sonny Gray tossed five shutout innings that included giving up three hits with two walks and striking out five batters. Gray picked up his second victory of the season.

Minnesota struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ryan Jeffers began the inning with a triple, then scored on a Michael A. Taylor groundout giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the eighth innings Jeffers would score again, this time on a Willi Castro RBI double, 2-0 Twins. Two batters later Taylor would pick up another RBI, driving in Castro and extending the lead to 3-0.

In the top of the ninth inning Jhoan Duran would enter the game looking to pick up the save. Keep in mind he blew his first save of the season less than 24 hours prior. Duran would get the first two batters of the inning out, but Lenyn Sosa would end the shutout bid with a 401 foot solo home run. This is the second straight appearance Duran has given up a home run. He would get the next batter out, giving Minnesota the 3-1 win.

There was a scary scene in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Chicago starter Lucas Giolito hit Twins shortstop Kyle Farmer in the jaw with a 91 MPH fastball. Farmer would leave the game to be examined. After the game it was announced that he will have surgery to realign four teeth and repair a laceration around his jaw.

Additionally, Byron Buxton left the game in the bottom of the seventh inning after a collision on the basepaths. He collided with White Sox infielder Lenyn Sosa while trying to reach second base on a grounder. The result of the incident sent Buxton flipping over Sosa and landing on his head. After laying face down on the ground for some time and being tended to on the field, he was able to walk off under his own power and was removed from the game.

After the game Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli gave an update on Farmer and Buxton:

The Twins are now heading to the Bronx for a four game series against the New York Yankees. The series will begin on Thursday evening with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Joe Ryan is Minnesota’s probable starter.

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