Minnesota Twins (12-22, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Chicago White Sox (21-13, first in the AL Central)
Chicago; Thursday, 2:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Michael Pineda (2-1, 2.43 ERA, .96 WHIP, 32 strikeouts) White Sox: Lance Lynn (3-1, 1.52 ERA, .98 WHIP, 35 strikeouts)
LINE: White Sox -135, Twins +120; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota enters the matchup as losers of their last three games.
The White Sox are 12-6 against teams from the AL Central. Chicago ranks second in the MLB in hitting with a .262 batting average, Yermin Mercedes leads the club with an average of .367.
The Twins are 6-7 against the rest of their division. The Minnesota offense has compiled a .246 batting average as a team this season, good for seventh in the majors. Nelson Cruz leads the team with an average of .303.
The White Sox won the last meeting 13-8. Dallas Keuchel earned his second victory and Billy Hamilton went 4-for-4 with a double, a triple and an RBI for Chicago. J.A. Happ registered his first loss for Minnesota.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Abreu leads the White Sox with 13 extra base hits and is batting .238.
Cruz leads the Twins with 22 RBIs and is batting .303.
LAST 10 GAMES: White Sox: 7-3, .252 batting average, 2.60 ERA, outscored opponents by 33 runs
Twins: 3-7, .256 batting average, 5.87 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
INJURIES: White Sox: Jace Fry: (microdiscectomy), Jimmy Cordero: (tommy john surgery), Luis Robert: (hip), Eloy Jimenez: (left pectoral), Adam Engel: (right hamstring).
Twins: Devin Smeltzer: (elbow), Edwar Colina: (right elbow), Byron Buxton: (hip), Alex Kirilloff: (right wrist).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
