April 13--The summary
The White Sox started puttin' on the hits in the first, when they scored twice and had five hits in a row. They had four in a row during a three-run eighth that helped ensure their second win in a row, 6-2 against the Twins on Sunday. Adam LaRoche hit his second home run in two days, a solo shot that cleared the right-field fence by a breath in the third for a 3-1 lead. Gordon Beckham hit a two-run homer in the eighth to put the Sox ahead 6-2.
At the plate
Melky Cabrera, Jose Abreu, LaRoche, Garcia, Alexei Ramirez, the Sox's No. 2-6 hitters, were a combined 10-for-16 with four RBIs. Beckham and Tyler Flowers had the team's other two hits.
On the mound
In his season debut, lefty Chris Sale struck out eight, walked one, gave up a run in six innings to earn the victory. He is 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA in his last four starts.
In the field
The Twins made two errors on routine popups in the second inning, but the Sox made their second baserunning mistake of the afternoon when Micah Johnson was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to third in the second. Jose Abreu was thrown out at third in the first inning on LaRoche's single.
The number
72. Strikes thrown by Sale in 98 pitches.
The quote
"The ball went over the fence. Whether or not the swing felt good, looked good, doesn't really matter. Definitely a good thing to have happen and put a little cushion between us and them for the bottom of the ninth." -- Beckham on his home run
Up next
At Indians, 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, WPWR-50.
-- Paul Skrbina
