Dunn’s 2 HRs, 5 RBIs lead White Sox over Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — Adam Dunn homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs, powering the Chicago White Sox past the Minnesota Twins 9-4 on Wednesday.
Dunn hit a pair of two-run shots for his 35th career multihomer game. He’s hit three home runs in the last two games and has nine this year. Dayan Viciedo also went deep for the second straight day, helping Dylan Axelrod (1-3) pick up his first victory this season.
Mike Pelfrey (3-4) was hit hard yet again, failing to record an out in the fifth inning. Dunn was the last batter he faced, delivering an RBI double that put the White Sox ahead 4-2. The 33-year-old slugger hit both of his homers with two outs, in the third against Pelfrey and the eighth off Josh Roenicke.
Dunn went 3 for 4 with a walk and still has the third-worst batting average in the majors, at .156, for players with the minimum amount of at-bats. But the White Sox didn’t sign him to hit singles, and the 6-foot-6, 285-pound first baseman can still drive a ball deep with the best of them.
Nine of his 20 hits this season are home runs. After leading the majors with 222 strikeouts last year, Dunn has fanned 48 times in 2013, another 200-plus pace. Houston’s Chris Carter has 60 strikeouts, tops in either league.
Axelrod finished 5 1-3 innings, allowing nine hits, three runs and one walk. The right-hander struck out four, including Ryan Doumit and Oswaldo Arcia in consecutive at-bats in the fifth after Josh Willingham was hit by a pitch and Justin Morneau singled to start the inning.
Chicago trailed 2-0 after two, but the Twins squandered opportunities to build Pelfrey a bigger lead he could’ve used.
They started the game with three straight hits for the first time this season but had runners on first and second with no outs who didn’t score. Then they stranded men at the corners at the end of the second inning.
Jamey Carroll and Joe Mauer each had three hits, and Morneau added a pair of singles on his 32nd birthday. Eduardo Escobar homered off Axelrod, Willingham drove in two runs and Carroll added an RBI single against reliever Matt Lindstrom.
Pelfrey’s hold on a spot in the rotation has been slipping. The right-hander, barely one year removed from Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in his throwing elbow, saw his ERA spike to 6.57, the third-highest in the majors among those with a qualified number of innings.
Opponents are batting .339 against him, also the third-highest in the majors. Pelfrey allowed eight hits, five runs and two walks while striking out three.
NOTES: Twins RHP Vance Worley’s ERA (7.15) and BAA (.379) are still worse than Pelfrey’s. ... The White Sox sent 2B Gordon Beckham (broken left wrist) and INF Angel Sanchez (back injury) on minor league rehab assignments. “You feel good that they’re going back out,” manager Robin Ventura said. “They’ll see how it feels and they’ll make sure they’re healthy. The main thing is to get them going again.” ... The White Sox have won 24 of their last 33 games against the Twins. ... The Twins are off Thursday before starting a three-game series against the Red Sox. Worley will pitch for the Twins against Clay Buchholz, who is unbeaten in six decisions this season. ... The White Sox travel west to finish the road trip with a four-game series against the Angels on Thursday. LHP Jose Quintana (2-1, 3.72 ERA) will take the mound for the White Sox against RHP Jerome Williams (2-1, 3.06) of the Angels.