Robert comes through again as Sox take sole possession of first place

After pitching a no-hitter against the Pirates last Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field, Lucas Giolito was voted American League Player of the Week right before making a big start against the Twins at Target Field Monday night.

Giolito didn't come close to matching his stellar outing against Pittsburgh. His command was off and the White Sox's ace made 1 of 3 errors in the second inning that Minnesota converted into 3 runs.

The big difference for the Sox this season is they have an offense explosive enough to overcome a poor start and/or leaky defense.

So, when they fell behind the defending AL Central champions 4-0 in the third inning, all was not lost.

RBI machine Jose Abreu came through with a 2-run double with two outs in the sixth inning to pull the White Sox into a 4-4 tie with the Twins. Then, star rookie Luis Robert took over from there and again led the Sox to a win, this time by an 8-5 count.

Robert tied the game at 5 with a 449-foot homer in the seventh inning and put the White Sox in front for good with a run-scoring double in the ninth.

"Even though we started the game 4 runs down, the team never put their heads down," said Robert, who hit a 3-run walkoff homer against the Royals Sunday. "With the team that we have, with the lineup that we have, 4 runs is nothing. We are confident and we just came from behind and got the victory. I think this win today shows what kind of team we are."

The White Sox are a first-place team, and with 12 wins in their last 14 and a 22-13 record, they lead the Indians by 1 game.

Giolito pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 4 hits and a walk to go with 8 strikeouts.

Bummer update:

Out since Aug. 8 with a left biceps strain, left-handed relief pitcher Aaron Bummer is also dealing with a nerve issue near the original injury.

"On the positive side, there's no indication this is a long-term issue," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "If this was a regular season and this happened early or midway through the season, there wouldn't be much issue with timing his return. Now that it's a shortened season, we aren't quite certain exactly when he's going to be able to return.

"It really comes down to getting that nerve calmed down and then as we ramp him up, which we have started to do on a throwing program, how the nerve responds."