As White Sox chase division title, Twins continue youth movement

Minnesota Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins played his first big-league game and ripped his first big-league hit.

Now, he is looking to experience his first victory in the majors.

Jenkins and the Twins will look to pull even in the series when they go up against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis. The White Sox are coming off a 7-4 win in the series opener Friday night.

The next game will mark another opportunity for Jenkins, a 21-year-old who went 1-for-3 in his debut. The Twins selected Jenkins in the first round (No. 5 overall) out of high school in North Carolina in 2023.

"The guy's a stud," teammate Luke Keaschall said. "I'm just happy I get to play with him now, and I'm super happy to watch his career play out."

Meanwhile, the White Sox will try to leave Jenkins winless in his opening weekend. They have won three games in a row and four of their past five, and they will look to increase their lead atop the American League Central as the postseason approaches.

White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde (6-8, 4.18 ERA) is set to take the mound on Saturday. He is looking for his first victory since July 31 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

In his most recent start last Sunday, Fedde pitched four scoreless innings against the New York Mets and drew a no-decision in the 2-1 win. He scattered three hits, walked one and struck out two.

Fedde is 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in five career starts against Minnesota. He has allowed only three runs in 28 innings, and he has walked six and struck out 27 in those starts. One of those victories came June 3, when Fedde allowed just two hits over five innings in an 8-0 win.

Minnesota plans to counter with right-hander Bailey Ober (7-4, 4.49). He is hoping to notch his first victory since July 17, when he defeated the Chicago Cubs.

Ober has not surpassed five innings in either of his past two starts. During his most recent outing last Sunday, he allowed one run on four hits in five innings against the San Diego Padres. He took a no-decision in the 8-1 loss.

In 15 career starts against the White Sox, Ober is 6-2 with a 3.67 ERA.

The White Sox moved to a season-high eight games over .500 on Friday and now lead the American League Central by 3 1/2 games over the Cleveland Guardians. The Twins have lost three consecutive games and stand 7 1/2 games behind the White Sox but have a chance to close the gap. The teams will meet five more times between now and Sept. 6.

White Sox outfielder Sam Antonacci will look to make a difference on the basepaths in the second game of the series. He swiped his 17th base of the season Friday night.

"The thing about Sammy that we all love is that he plays hard every single moment that he's out there," White Sox manager Will Venable said. "However that takes shape is fine with me as long as he's OK."

The Twins will try to battle back as their youth movement takes shape.

Shortstop Kaelen Culpepper is coming off a productive series opener in which he went 1-for-3 with a walk. He is hitting .333 in 17 games since his promotion earlier this month, and he is excited to welcome Jenkins into the fold.

"We kind of joked about it, like we were hitting 1 and 2 in (Triple-A) Saint Paul. Now we're hitting 8 and 9 (with the Twins)," Culpepper said. "Going back to (2024), when we played together in high-Class A, when I first played with him, we talked about our future together. ... Now, it's a reality. It's a pretty cool thing."

-Field Level Media