White Sox take down first-place Twins, win fourth straight
In major-league baseball, tides can quickly turn.
Take the White Sox, for example.
After opening a "prove it" road trip Monday against the two teams they're chasing in the AL Central on a sour note, the Sox are flipping the switch at a most opportune time.
Following two straight losses at second-place Cleveland, rumors of division in the clubhouse and even more calls for manager Tony La Russa to be launched, the White Sox pulled it together.
They won the final two games against the Guardians and headed to Minnesota Thursday for the first of four vs. the first-place Twins.
A 12-2 romp in the opener was just the Sox's second win over Minnesota in seven tries this season, and they outplayed the Twins again Friday night in a 6-2 win at Target Field.
The White Sox (45-45) are back at .500 for the first time since June 21, when they were 33-33. They're also only 3 games behind the Twins, the closest the Sox have been to the top spot in the Central since May 19.
Tim Anderson is going to be the White Sox's lone representative in Tuesday's All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, unless starting pitcher Dylan Cease is a late addition.
Batting only .218/.269/.241 over his last 20 games heading into Friday, Anderson was back in elite form against Minnesota.
The shortstop went 2-for-5 and his first home run since May 22 - a solo shot off reliever Emilio Pagan in the fourth inning - snapped a 2-2 tie.
In the fifth, Anderson showed off his athletic ability on the defensive end. With one out, the Twins' Max Kepler hit a rocket line drive up the middle and Anderson leapt high in the air to catch the ball.
"Like Doctor J. or Michael Jordan," La Russa told reporters. "I would suggest you write it that way. Pretty good prose."
Four straight wins have showed the White Sox can be a good team, and that was the expectation before the season started.
"It's great," said Adam Engel, who broke the game open with a 3-run homer in the seventh inning. "Obviously, winning is way better than losing. Pretty straightforward there."
Engel wasn't in the starting lineup, but he entered the game in the second inning after Luis Robert exited. The Sox said Robert was feeling lightheaded.
Michael Kopech started for the Sox and gave up 2 runs over 5 innings while throwing 90 pitches.
The White Sox's bullpen has been solid as of late, allowing just 1 run in 19.2 innings coming in.
Joe Kelly, Reynaldo Lopez, Kendall Graveman and closer Liam Hendriks kept the surge going with a combined 4 scoreless innings.