The Twins rocked White Sox rookie right-hander Dylan Cease for eight runs on 10 hits in two plus innings Thursday, knocking the prized prospect out of the game after Jake Cave and C.J. Cron opened the third inning with home runs to give the Twins an 8-0 lead.
Cease allowed five consecutive singles to open the game and four runs in the first inning on six hits. He gave up two runs on two singles and a walk in the second to give the Twins a 6-0 lead.
Cease threw 61 pitches, 40 for strikes. He uncorked two high pitches on his arm side well out of the strike zone, one officially a wild pitch, and one prompting Sox training staff and manager Rick Renteria to visit the mound to make sure he was OK. Cease insisted he was fine and stayed in the game.
Cease, touching 98-mph with his fastball, struck out three and walked one. Coming off a six-inning performance in which he allowed three runs while striking out a season-high nine batters against the Texas Rangers, Cease saw his ERA climb to 6.92.
The Twins, who lead the major leagues in homers and are third in runs scored, hit back-to-back homers for the 11th time this season.
Cease was replaced by lefty Josh Osich.
The Sox (60-72) were trying to avoid a three-game sweep by the Twins (81-51), who lead the AL Central. The Sox open a seven-game road trip Friday against the Braves in Atlanta.
