His most recent stint with Minnesota has sure started strong. He is 6-for-10 with two home runs since being called up on Wednesday. Our old pal Hector Santiago got the start for the Twins and allowed all 3 runs over 6 innings of work.
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Ventura said Shields’ frustration level is “probably pretty high” after his second bad stretch in three months.
Brian Dozier led off with his 34th homer, setting the tone for another tough start.
Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton comes out of the dugout to acknowledge the crowd after hitting a grand slam against the Chicago White Sox in the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Minneapolis.
Six more Twins came to the plater after the gaffe, tacking on a two-run double and a three-run homer by Trevor Plouffe to turn what was a competitive game into a laugher.
Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson (5-9) took the loss, surrendering five runs, nine hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 5⅔ innings.
Santiago shutout the Cleveland Indians over 6 1/3 innings on Monday but did not get a win after Cleveland won 1-0 in extra innings.
Omar Narvaez and Adam Eaton each hit singles off Twins reliever Pat Dean to set up Anderson, who dumped a two-base hit into the left-field corner, scoring both runners.
“I’m not saying that I’m going back to the drawing board, but it’s to the point where it’s like, ‘Man, I’m working as hard as I can and I’m not really reaping any benefits of it.’ It’s a frustrating act to feel like you have the stuff to go deep into a game and feel like you’ve settled down and let it get away from you”, he said.
Shields – also a midseason acquisition – kept on struggling.
White Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo was blasted for nine runs on 11 hits and a walk in just 4 2/3 innings of work.
But the normally sure-handed third baseman one-hopped a throw that Jose Abreu couldn’t handle at first allowing a run to score and the inning to continue. He was charged with five runs after giving up four walks and five hits, including a two-run smash by Sano that landed in the third deck above left field.
Shields experienced some tightness in his back after leaving the game.
“We’ve got to get a better handle on what’s going on with James”, Ventura said before the Sox opened a home stand Monday against the Detroit Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field. Dozier’s 10 home runs against Kansas City this year are the most ever by a Royals opponent.
Dozier has hit a majors-most 24 home runs since the All-Star break.
“He’s just not missing many pitches. He had to pay the price for that along the way”, Molitor said.
C John Ryan Murphy was recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. Acquired from the New York Yankees for outfielder Aaron Hicks in a winter trade, Murphy hit.236 with 39 RBIs in 83 games for Rochester. Chicago SS Tim Anderson (calf) returned to the lineup on Saturday and went 1-for-4 after sitting out Friday.3.
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Dozier, Buxton, Sano and Plouffe all homered for the Twins, who will try for the four-game series win on Sunday after beginning the homestand on Thursday riding a 13-game losing streak, the second-longest skid in team history. Tommy Kahnle worked scoreless 8th, and he, Ynoa and Minaya preserved the important parts of the bullpen for tomorrow’s Ranaudo start, though perhaps a position player pitching would have been an appropriate end to the early pitching performances.
