Minnesota @ Chicago preview
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Last Meeting ( Aug 4, 2024 ) Chi. White Sox 7, Minnesota 13
After a dreadful season-opening series, the visiting Minnesota Twins will look to earn their first win of the season Monday afternoon when they open a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox.
Minnesota, which ended a disappointing 2024 season with four consecutive losses, continued its subpar play in the first series of 2025. The Twins were swept by the host St. Louis Cardinals and outscored 19-6 in the three defeats.
Byron Buxton's first-inning RBI single on Sunday gave Minnesota its only lead of the series, before starter Bailey Ober allowed eight runs in 2 2/3 innings to punctuate the team's tough start.
Despite an inauspicious first series, Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli believes the law of averages will even things out, especially at the plate.
"A lot of the balls that we hit on the barrel, they were making diving plays on the entire series. That will not continue," Baldelli said. "We just have to stay true to what we're trying to do at the plate. Keep having good at-bats, keep barrelling balls up and things are going to work offensively.
"It was actually not a bad offensive display. The runs did not come, but you can go up and down the lineup and say fairly positive things about more guys than not."
Second baseman Willi Castro was Minnesota's offensive standout of the series, notching four hits, including a home run, and three RBIs.
Looking to spark the Twins on Monday, Chris Paddack gets his first 2025 start after going 5-3 with a 4.99 ERA in 17 starts for Minnesota last season.
Paddack, a 29-year-old right-hander, has had success against the White Sox in two career starts, including a 10-strikeout, seven-inning scoreless start against Chicago last April.
Coming off the worst season by any team since the 120-loss 1962 New York Mets, the White Sox enjoyed an Opening Day home win over the Los Angeles Angels before dropping the series after a pair of one-run losses.
Chicago exploded for eight runs Thursday, but mustered just two combined runs in Saturday and Sunday's defeats. A bright spot from the White Sox's perspective was a pitching staff that allowed only five runs in the series, an inspiring start after the club finished 28th with a 4.68 ERA in 2024.
"We continued to battle," first-year White Sox manager Will Venable said. "These guys have done a great job continuing to work. ... Our pitching is keeping us in there and we're going to have some chances here offensively."
Aiming to continue Chicago's run on the mound, veteran lefty Martin Perez will make his first White Sox start after signing a one-year, $5 million contract in January.
Perez, who turns 34 on Friday, went 5-6 with a 4.53 ERA in 26 starts last season, but improved after a midseason trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the San Diego Padres, where he went 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 52 innings.
Perez is 0-4 with a 5.43 ERA in 13 career appearances (eight starts) against Minnesota.
--Field Level Media