CHICAGO _ That's the Hector Santiago the Twins remember. That's the Lance Lynn they've been expecting, sort of.
The combination turned a matchup between the departed and the disappointing into the Twins' first winning streak in more than three weeks. Lynn provided his first quality start with his new team, Santiago was roughed up by his old one, and Minnesota won for the second straight night, 8-4 at Guaranteed Rate Park.
Eddie Rosario finished a triple short of the cycle, and drove in five runs, most by any Twin this season.
Lynn, whose monthlong misadventures had become a growing concern, still experienced a couple of rough innings on Saturday, allowing four hits in the first and three more, including a couple of doubles, in the fifth. But the veteran finally found an effective formula: both times, he induced double-play balls that prevented those tense moments from detonating his start.
An inning-ending grounder by Daniel Palka with the bases loaded allowed Lynn to escape the first inning with only one run, and another double play by Leury Garcia in the fifth likewise limited the trouble to just one run. In between, Lynn was the fastball placement artist the Twins had assumed they were hiring when they signed him this spring. Only one other White Sox batter reached base, and Lynn immediately recorded three of his seven strikeouts to take control. He left after striking out the final two hitters he faced in the sixth inning, pulling more than a full run off his ERA, which declined from 8.37 to 7.28.
Not only was it Lynn's first quality start (six inning pitched, three or fewer runs allowed) as a Twin, it was his first since last Sept. 7 while with St. Louis, 10 starts ago. It also was the first by any Twin in a week, since Jake Odorizzi shut down the Reds the previous Saturday, and allowed the Twins to post their first back-t-back wins since a three-game winning streak April 10-12.
Know who's gone even longer without a quality start? Santiago, whose last one came almost exactly a year ago, May 9, in this same ballpark _ when he was with the Twins. But Santiago's Minnesota career petered out quickly thereafter, and after seven more messy starts, he disappeared from the roster in early July. He's resurfaced as a long reliever and spot starter with the White Sox this year, but his former teammates weren't doing him any favors on Saturday.
Santiago was in trouble right from the start. Joe Mauer lined the fourth pitch of the game into right field, triggering a three-run inning that included a double by Eduardo Escobar _ his 15 doubles this season lead all major-league players _ and back-to-back run-scoring singles by Rosario and Mitch Garver. Two innings later, Santiago coughed up another three-run inning, this time due to a two-run homer into the Twins bullpen by Rosario and a double into the left-field corner by Ehire Adrianza. And in the fourth, two walks by Santiago ended his outing, and turned into runs when reliever Chris Volstad surrendered a double off the center-field wall to Rosario.
Backed by eight early runs, Lynn was efficient, and Twins manager Paul Molitor could spare the more overused relievers in his bullpen from another night of work. Matt Magill pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing only two hits, one of them a solo home run by Tim Anderson. Phil Hughes, making his first relief appearance of the season, also allowed a solo home run to Anderson, but struck out Adam Engel to finish off the Sox and put the Twins in position to win a road series for the first time since the season-opening weekend in Baltimore.
