The Chicago White Sox take aim at their second four-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins in just over three years as the two clubs conclude their series this evening.
Pitching has helped the White Sox dominate this set so far after they came in riding a four-game slide. They won the first portion of a doubleheader on Monday by a 2-1 margin, then saw Zach Stewart threw a near-perfect game to win the nightcap.
Last night was Jake Peavy's turn in Chicago's second straight shutout as he battled flu-like symptoms to pitch into the seventh inning of a 3-0 win. He escaped trouble in each of the first four innings, but ended up allowing only four hits while striking out nine and winning for the third time in 11 starts since the beginning of July.
"I've been battling a head cold, congestion," said Peavy. "I was a little more aggressive. We didn't have a whole lot of 1-2-3 innings, but I had a good game plan. I stretched out enough to get a win."
Alex Rios had a solo homer and Alejandro De Aza had two hits, including an RBI single for Chicago, which still trails first-place Detroit by eight games in the American League Central.
Facing three games in two days, the struggling Twins made a rare move as they became the first time in 25 years to start three players making their major league debuts in the same game.
Australian-born righty Liam Hendriks (0-1) pitched admirably in his debut, but was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on four hits in seven innings.
"I went out there and attacked my pitch plan," Hendriks said. "It worked pretty good. I walked a couple of guys, which is kind of irritating for me. I hate walking people, but I got out of it and got through it pretty well."
First baseman Chris Parmelee and center fielder Joe Benson were also called up from the minor leagues to make their MLB debuts, but arrived to see the Twins lose their fifth straight game.
Parmelee was 2-for-4 with leadoff singles in the second and fourth innings, but was stranded at third base both times. Benson batted first in the order and went 0-for-3 with a walk.
Overall, Minnesota is 3-14 in its past 17 games and has lost eight of its last nine versus Chicago.
John Danks will try to rebound for the White Sox tonight following his first loss in five starts last time out.
The left-hander fired a three-hit shutout at Seattle on Aug. 27 before getting lit up for eight runs over 4 2/3 innings of a loss to the Tigers on Friday. Danks had been 2-0 in his previous four appearances, but dipped to 6-10 with a 4.01 earned run average on the season.
Danks has faced the Twins just once this season and got a loss back on May 3 despite a quality start. The 26-year-old yielded three runs in eight innings, but is 6-8 with a 4.95 ERA versus Minnesota lifetime regardless.
Carl Pavano aims to build off his first win since the All-Star break with tonight's start versus the White Sox.
The 35-year-old was 0-5 over his previous nine games before recording a win at the Angels on Friday. He allowed four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings, but did not allow a homer after yielding five in his previous three outings.
"The guys put together some great at-bats," said Pavano, who won for the first time since July 7 at the White Sox. "The Angels are aggressive, but I was able to keep the ball down in the zone and keep them off-balance."
The right-hander is 7-11 with a 4.60 ERA and lost to Chicago on Aug. 6 despite yielding only one earned run in eight innings of work. Pavano is 8-4 with a 3.26 ERA versus the White Sox lifetime.
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