Odorizzi, two more homers lead Twins to sweep of White Sox
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Jake Odorizzi allowed one hit in 5 1/3 scoreless innings, and Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler each hit three-run homers as the Minnesota Twins completed a sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 7-0 win on Sunday.
The Twins are now a major-league-best 36-16, with a 10-game lead in the American League Central division.
Odorizzi (7-2) won his seventh straight decision and finished without allowing a run for the fifth time in his past six starts. He combined with four relievers for Minnesota's sixth shutout of the season.
The Twins have won 11 of their past 12 games and swept a series for the seventh time this season. They swept eight series all of last season.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Rosario hit his 16th home run, which is second in the American League to Houston's George Springer, to cap a four-run third inning against Chicago starter Dylan Covey. Kepler's 12th home run came in the seventh, traveling an estimated 429 feet off the new wall of juniper bushes in center field.
Minnesota has hit a majors-best 104 home runs this season and has the top home run differential at plus-43.
Covey (0-4) allowed four runs in six innings on three hits and two walks.
The Twins' surge to the best record in the majors has been powered by the best offense in baseball, but Odorizzi and the team's starters have done their part. Minnesota entered the day with a 3.57 ERA from its starters, the third-best mark in the majors.
Odorizzi has given up three runs in his past 35 2/3 innings for a 0.76 ERA and he's struck out 38 batters over that span. In six starts at home this season, the right-hander has given up five runs in 36 1/3 innings.
He retired the final eight batters he faced, striking out six of them, but was pulled with one out in the sixth with 93 pitches. Odorizzi struck out nine batters.
The White Sox tied a season high with 16 strikeouts and were outscored 26-5 in the three-game series.
Minnesota's success didn't translate much to Target Field attendance in the early going, possibly due to unseasonably cool weather. A return home after a strong West Coast road trip coupled with warmer temperatures brought the fans out for the weekend series.
Sunday marked the team's second straight sellout and second since Opening Day. It's the first time Minnesota has had back-to-back sellouts since June 20-21, 2015 against the Chicago Cubs. The crowd of 39,913 was the most at Target Field since Opening Day 2016. The Twins reported walk-up sales of 2,593 on Sunday.
That led to some extremely long lines for fans waiting to get into the stadium on Saturday and Sunday.
Twins team president Dave St. Peter acknowledged some frustrated fans on Twitter, saying he agreed the team could do better but also asking fans to allow more time to reach their seats.
St. Peter tweeted that the team is looking at revising its bag policy for fans entering the stadium.
"We are only looking at eliminating certain types of bags all aimed at making security process at gates more efficient," he tweeted.
Minnesota opens a two-game series with Milwaukee on Monday at Target Field.
MPR News contributed to this report.
