AP

Jiménez again hits 2 home runs, White Sox rout Twins 11-1

Aug 9, 2021, 8:23 AM | Updated: 9:08 pm

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Chicago White Sox already were enjoying quite a season despite missing two key players. Now with Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert back in the lineup, the AL Central leaders are looking even more formidable.

Jiménez hit two homers with five RBIs for the second straight game, Robert came off the 60-day injured list to deliver an RBI double and single, and the White Sox cruised past the Minnesota Twins 11-1 Monday night.

“Getting both those guys back is kind of a reminder of what they can do to help us,” manager Tony La Russa said.

Tim Anderson led off the game with a home run for the second day in a row and Lucas Giolito pitched two-hit ball for eight innings as the White Sox won their fourth in a row.

Jiménez became the first White Sox player with consecutive games of at least two homers and five RBIs, and the first in the majors since Bryce Harper for Washington in 2015.

Jiménez has five homers and 14 RBIs in 10 games since his return from the injured list after missing all of the season with a ruptured pectoral tendon sustained in spring training.

“Yes, I feel really good,” Jiménez said of having his timing down at the plate.

Giolito (9-8) faced the minimum over the first seven innings. The first hit he allowed came on a hard grounder from Luis Arraez to start the fifth inning that glanced off Giolito’s leg.

Miguel Sanó homered off Giolito.

“It was a tough start for us and then when we would get in the batter’s box, Giolito was real sharp,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He has excellent stuff, real swing-and-miss stuff. Tonight was one of the nights where I think his command matched his stuff and he was just exceptionally difficult on us.”

Beau Burrows (0-1) allowed seven runs — six earned — over two innings in his first career start. He was claimed off waivers from Detroit on June 22 and was recalled from Triple-A on July 27. His ERA rose to 13.91 in six appearances this season.

Anderson lined the fifth pitch of the game into the left-field seats. He opened Sunday night’s game at Wrigley Field with a home run, sending the White Sox toward a three-game sweep over the Cubs.

Jiménez hit a towering homer off the facing of the second deck above the batter’s eye in center field for a two-run homer in the first inning. He connected for a three-run drive in the second.

Yoán Moncada homered in the ninth for Chicago.

“You can’t underestimate when you get a start like that,” La Russa said of the first-inning homers by Anderson and Jiménez. “They set a certain tempo for the game and our guys stayed hungry the whole time.”

ARE YOU SURE

Jiménez’s first-inning homer temporarily fooled the Statcast projection system. The ball ricocheted off the limestone facing and landed in the field of play. Statcast originally estimated the ball traveled 399 feet. After a change, the homer was estimated at 454 feet.

ANNOUNCER OUT

Before the game, Chicago announced that TV play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti will miss the team’s upcoming broadcasts after testing positive for COVID-19. Benetti, who recently worked Olympic baseball broadcasts for NBC, later tweeted that he is “mildly symptomatic” and plans to return soon. Mike Monaco is his replacement.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: Robert was out since May 4 with a right hip flexor strain. Gavin Sheets was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte and OF Luis González was released to make room on the 40-man roster for Robert’s return.

Twins: RHP Jorge Alcala was placed on the 10-day injured list with triceps tendinitis. Alcala has appeared in 45 games this season with a 5.11 ERA. Edgar García, who was claimed off waivers from Cincinnati on July 30, was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul. García made his Twins debut on Monday with one run and one hit allowed in 2 1/3 innings. … 3B Josh Donaldson was out of the lineup for the third straight game with a right hamstring injury. … CF Byron Buxton, out since June 22 with a left hand fracture, completed a full workout on the field before the game. He ran, shagged flyballs and was expected to hit before the game.

UP NEXT

LHP Dallas Keuchel (7-5, 4.44 ERA) will start for Chicago on Tuesday in the middle game of the series. Minnesota counters with RHP Griffin Jax (2-1, 5.63). Keuchel has made three starts against the Twins this season with 11 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings. Jax has allowed just one run in each of his last three starts, spanning 14 1/3 innings.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Jiménez again hits 2 home runs, White Sox rout Twins 11-1