Twins rally past White Sox for 10th straight victory
CHICAGO — There’s a feeling around the Twins these days, one that certainly wasn’t there a couple weeks ago. It’s a confidence that no matter the situation, somehow, some way, they will find a path to victory.
That’s the kind of swagger that comes when a team is on a 10-game winning streak, as the Twins are after rallying Wednesday afternoon Chicago to beat the White Sox 10-5 at Guaranteed Rate Field. It’s just the eighth time in club history that the team has extended a winning streak into double digits.
Yes, the Twins have taken advantage of a soft spot in their schedule — seven of those games came against the White Sox, a team that has won a major league-worst six games, and the other three came against the lowly Angels in Anaheim.
But rattling off 10 straight wins, which no Twins team has done since 2008, isn’t easy, no matter who the competition is. It’s taken contributions from everyone — and maybe some help from a lucky summer sausage that was tossed to Alex Kirilloff after his fifth-inning home run.
The Twins trailed for much of the day after Bailey Ober gave up a pair of runs in the first inning. And for a while, whenever they scored, the White Sox seemed to have an answer. But once the game turned into a battle of bullpens, the Twins had a clear advantage and used some help from Chicago’s relief corps to break through.
The Twins drew three walks in the sixth inning before Willi Castro hit a ball softly toward shortstop Paul DeJong that looked as if it would be turned into an inning-ending double play. Instead, DeJong lost his grip and the ball rolled into center field, allowing a pair of runs to score and tie the game 5-5.
The next inning, the Twins drew another pair of walks and took their first lead of the day on Max Kepler and Jose Miranda singles.
Miranda, who finished the day with three hits and drove in an important insurance run in the ninth inning, came in for Byron Buxton, who departed early in the second inning after experiencing right knee soreness on a stolen base attempt.