Chicago White Sox ace Davis Martin admits, “I don’t like talking about myself.”
The Minnesota Twins can relate.
After absorbing a 15-2 defeat on Wednesday, the visiting Twins will aim to move on against Martin on Thursday afternoon as they try to split the four-game series.
“There’s not much we did well (Wednesday) overall,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said.
The White Sox walloped the Twins behind a season-best 18 hits. Sam Antonacci and Randal Grichuk contributed three apiece, while Chase Meidroth, Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, Edgar Quero and Tristan Peters each added two.
“It was awesome,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Up and down the lineup, really stringing together quality at-bats. … We just had really good at-bats that we were able to get hard contact, really, throughout the lineup.
Meidroth has recorded multiple hits in each of the first three games of the series, and he connected for a grand slam on Wednesday.
Murakami, meanwhile, has homered in each contest to stretch his total to 20, tied for the American League lead. He is the third White Sox player in club history to reach that mark before June.
“He’s just been consistently doing a lot of damage, obviously,” Venable said. “Every day, you see quality at-bats. If it’s not homers, it’s pitches he took the other way, like today. Drawing walks. So he just continues to stay in good spots. He’s stacking really productive days.”
Minnesota also relied on the long ball Wednesday but little else. Two of the club’s three hits were solo shots, with Byron Buxton and Kody Clemens providing the power. Chicago’s David Sandlin, making his major league debut, retired 18 straight after Buxton’s leadoff home run.
A Gold Glove center fielder, Buxton has started three straight games and six of his past seven at designated hitter as he deals with a sore right hip that triggers pain when he stops.
“We’re working on that brake system,” Buxton said. “It’s good though. Every day it’s progressing, feeling better. Keep going day by day and go from there. Obviously it’s May so I don’t want to do something stupid, which is hard. They’re keeping me contained.”
Chicago has won eight of nine against Minnesota dating to last season.
Martin (7-1, 2.04 ERA) will get the call as the White Sox try to win their fifth straight home series. The right-hander is searching for his third straight winning start and his sixth consecutive winning decision.
Strong run support helped Martin win a road game against the San Francisco Giants on Friday, when he spaced four runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two against seven strikeouts.
Martin is 2-3 with a 6.15 ERA in six appearances (five starts) vs. the Twins.
The Twins moved Taj Bradley’s turn in the rotation back one day and will give the ball to rookie left-hander Kendry Rojas (1-0, 1.26).
Rojas has made just one start among his five appearances, when he worked four shutout innings against the Houston Astros on May 18. He contributed three shutout innings of relief against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, permitting one hit and one walk while striking out three.
The 23-year-old Cuba native will be opposing the White Sox for the first time.
–Field Level Media
