Let's Not Get Swept By The Freaking Twins, OK?
/The first three games of the current 11-game road trip have been none too kind as the White Sox have dropped three straight to Minnesota and fallen to five games below .500, their low-water mark of the season thus far.
Avoiding a four-game sweep also means winning the one game of this series that shows some semblance of being a solid pitching matchup when John Danks takes on Phil Hughes at 1:10 p.m. on Sunday.
In winning his last three starts, Danks has put together the type of run the White Sox were hoping to get out of him on a consistent basis when he returned from injury a year ago. Going even further back, since allowing 7 earned runs in 4.2 innings in a loss to Houston on May 18, Danks has allowed just 6 earned runs over 35.2 innings pitched in his last five starts.
Opposing Danks on Sunday is a rather bizarre revitalization project. Hughes, the once former top prospect of the New York Yankeees, has come to know the strike zone quite well in his first season with the Twins. At 7-3 and a 3.09 ERA, Hughes has walked just eight batters all season across 90.1 innings pitched.
He faced the White Sox once this season, way back on April 3rd, and produced one of his poorest starts of the season, giving up four earned runs in five innings pitched, however, with seven strikeouts and just a single walk.
White Sox Lineup:
Adam Eaton – CF
Gordon Beckham – 2B
Jose Abreu – 1B
Adam Dunn – DH
Alexei Ramirez – SS
Conor Gillaspie – 3B
Moises Sierra – RF
Alejandro De Aza – LF
Tyler Flowers – C
John Danks – SP
Minnesota Twins Lineup:
Danny Santana – SS
Brian Dozier – 2B
Joe Mauer – 1B
Josh Willingham – LF
Kendrys Morales – DH
Oswaldo Arcia – RF
Kurt Suzuki – C
Eduardo Escobar – 3B
Sam Fuld – CF
Phil Hughes – SP
Where to Watch: Today’s game will be broadcast on CSN. 1:10 p.m. Central start time.
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