Updated

Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Brian Dozier smacked a three-run homer as part of a seven-run third inning as the Minnesota Twins pounded the Chicago White Sox 12-2 in the opener of a four-game set.

Dozier's blast was among his two hits, four RBI and two runs scored for the Twins, who have won four of their last six games.

Joe Mauer went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while Trevor May (2-1) yielded two runs on 10 hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings. May also took a shot on the right elbow from a liner off the bat of Kyle Seager.

"I got really lucky, I think," May said. "I can only feel anything if I really push on it.

Chris Sale (2-1) was roughed up for nine runs -- eight earned -- on nine hits and two walks for Chicago, which has dropped two straight on the heels of a 4-2 stretch.

"Hitting is contagious. You give a team like that energy, and they're going to roll with it. And that's what they did," Sale said.

The game was tied 2-2 before the Twins erupted for seven runs in the third.

Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run single, Kurt Suzuki and Shane Robinson posted run-scoring singles and Dozier's three-run shot to left capped the scoring in the frame and staked Minnesota to a 9-2 advantage.

The Twins put three more runs on the board in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Chris Herrmann's two-run double and Mauer's run-scoring base hit increased the margin to 12-2.

Earlier, RBI singles by Mauer and Dozier in the first and second innings, respectively, opened the scoring for the Twins.

The White Sox pushed two runs across in the third on run-scoring base hits by Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu.

Game Notes

Minnesota was 7-for-12 with runners in scoring position, while Chicago was 3- for-10 with RISP and stranded 10 ... Mauer has 13 RBI on the season ... Sale's ERA climbed to 5.32.