MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez each had four hits, helping Dylan Bundy and the Minnesota Twins beat the banged-up Chicago White Sox 9-2 on Saturday.
Buxton hit a solo homer in the fourth inning and scored three times. Arraez drove in three runs, and Ryan Jeffers hit his first home run of the season for Minnesota, which has won three in a row.
Bundy (3-0) continued his surprising start to the season. He permitted four hits in five scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 0.59 this season, the third-best mark in the majors.
The White Sox lost their sixth straight game, and this one was particularly costly. Outfielder Eloy Jiménez was carted off with a hamstring injury after trying to beat out a ground ball in the second.
José Abreu hit an opposite-field homer in the sixth for the reigning AL Central champions. Vince Velasquez (0-2) gave up five runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Coming off a 6.60 ERA last season for the Los Angeles Angels, Bundy’s signing wasn’t seen as a major upgrade for the Twins. But he has been the most impressive member of a standout rotation.
His second start with five scoreless innings dropped the team’s ERA to 2.53 (20 earned runs in 71 innings) from its starters this year. Minnesota entered the day with the best starters ERA in the American League and was second in the league in batting average against at .206.
Bundy wasn’t challenged much by a Chicago lineup that has scored eight runs in its past five games.
Minnesota loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning against Velasquez, and Buxton scored on a fielder’s choice by Jorge Polanco. Jeffers and Buxton doubled as part of a two-run second and then each homered to the second deck in left field in a four-run fourth.
Buxton’s fourth homer of the year chased Velasquez, and Trevor Larnach drove in two runs with a two-out single.
NOT AGAIN
Jiménez fell face-first to the ground in shallow right field after hitting first base and immediately grabbed at his right leg. He was down for several minutes before being taken off on a cart. The team announced it was right hamstring soreness.
The oft-injured Jiménez is hitting .222 through 11 games this season with one home run and seven RBIs. The 25-year-old slugger missed several months last season with a pectoral injury. He played 55 games in the shortened 2020 season and 122 in his rookie year of 2019 when he hit 31 home runs.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: Manager Tony La Russa told reporters that 3B Yoán Moncada (right oblique strain) is still feeling something when swinging left-handed.
Twins: C Gary Sánchez is dealing with abdominal tightness, according to manager Rocco Baldelli. Sánchez will not be going on the injured list after reporting some improvement Saturday. He was scratched from the lineup minutes before Friday’s game and the team will give him a few days of rest. ... José Godoy had his contract selected from Triple-A to give the team more catching depth. ... RHP Jhon Romero was placed on the 10-day injured list with right biceps tendinitis. RHP Jorge Alcala was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
UP NEXT
Chicago is expected to activate RHP Lucas Giolito from the injured list to start Sunday’s series finale. Giolito pitched four scoreless innings in his only start of the season before sustaining a left abdominal strain. Minnesota counters with RHP Chris Archer (0-0, 2.16 ERA).
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