Dismal Season Start Continues For White Sox At Home Opener
CHICAGO (AP) -- Tommy Milone pitched two-hit ball into the eighth inning and the Minnesota Twins got their first win under manager Paul Molitor, beating the White Sox, 6-0, on Friday in Chicago's home opener.
Joe Mauer reached base four times, with an RBI single and three walks. Eduardo Escobar doubled and scored twice hours after his fiancee gave birth to a boy, and Brian Dozier homered.
The Twins got some relief after getting knocked around in a three-game sweep at Detroit, while the White Sox (0-4) matched their worst start since 1995.
Milone (1-0) yielded a bunt single to Micah Johnson in the third and retired the next 16 batters before Tyler Flowers chased him with a two-out double in the eighth. He struck out seven and walked two.
Brian Duensing retired Johnson on a fly to left to end the eighth and worked the ninth for his first save.
The game ended with Adam Eaton, who led off the ninth with a double, getting thrown out trying to score on a pop fly by Jose Abreu to the shortstop Escobar in shallow left.
After going scoreless through the first 24 1-3 innings and getting pounded a combined 22-1 in the Tigers series, the Twins grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first when Mauer drove in Escobar with a single. Escobar also led off the fifth with a double and scored from third on a wild pitch by Hector Noesi (0-1) with the bases loaded.
Dozier made it 3-0 in the sixth with a drive to left off Matt Albers for his first homer after hitting a career-high 23 last year. Jordan Schafer capped a three-run eighth by driving in two with a bloop single off Zach Putnam.
Noesi lasted 4 2-3 innings for Chicago, allowing two runs and four hits. He struck out six but struggled with his control, walking six, throwing two wild pitches and hitting a batter.
The White Sox, who were swept by defending AL champion Kansas City in their opening series, finished with three hits.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: The White Sox hope ace Chris Sale goes about six innings Sunday when he makes his first start of the season. The left-hander broke a bone in his right foot in what the team described as an accident at his home in Arizona in late February. "We're pretty happy with where he's at," manager Robin Ventura said. "You just want to make sure you're not running him out there, getting him overextended."
UP NEXT: RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-1, 7.50 ERA) makes his first home start for the White Sox, while RHP Mike Pelfrey pitches for Minnesota. Samardzija lost the opener at Kansas City, allowing five runs over six innings. Pelfrey, who missed much of last season with a right elbow injury, replaces the suspended Ervin Santana in the rotation.
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