Chicago hosts Minnesota after Lopez's strong showing
Minnesota Twins (61-40, first in the AL Central) vs. Chicago White Sox (45-54, third in the AL Central)
Chicago; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Jose Berrios (8-5, 2.96 ERA) White Sox: Lucas Giolito (11-4, 3.12 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Chicago heads into the matchup after a dominant performance by Reynaldo Lopez. Lopez went eight innings, surrendering two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts against Miami.
The White Sox are 22-20 against teams from the AL Central. Chicago has a collective on-base percentage of .308, led by Yoan Moncada with a mark of .355.
The Twins are 21-12 against AL Central Division teams. Minnesota has slugged .500, the highest in the American League. Nelson Cruz leads the team with a .566 slugging percentage, including 38 extra-base hits and 22 home runs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Abreu leads the White Sox with 44 extra base hits and is batting .269. James McCann is 5-for-33 with three home runs and three RBIs over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Max Kepler leads the Twins with 25 home runs home runs and is slugging .525. Luis Arraez has 11 hits and is batting .355 over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: White Sox: 3-7, .233 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored by nine runs
Twins: 3-7, .271 batting average, 6.00 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
White Sox Injuries: Carlos Rodon: 60-day IL (elbow), Michael Kopech: 60-day IL (elbow), Nate Jones: 60-day IL (elbow), Kelvin Herrera: 10-day IL (oblique), Ryan Burr: 60-day IL (elbow), Manny Banuelos: 10-day IL (shoulder), Eloy Jimenez: 10-day IL (elbow), Tim Anderson: 10-day IL (ankle).
Twins Injuries: LaMonte Wade Jr: 10-day IL (thumb), Byron Buxton: 10-day IL (concussion), C.J. Cron: 10-day IL (thumb), Willians Astudillo: 10-day IL (oblique).
