Slugging White Sox hope to capitalize on comforts of home again vs. Twins

The Chicago White Sox often turn a pitcher's mistake into deep home runs.

The White Sox (74-67) will try to keep their power surge going when they host the Minnesota Twins (67-74) on Saturday night.

The White Sox are coming off a 4-1 win in Friday night's series opener, in which they hit three home runs. Colson Montgomery belted a two-run shot to right-center field, and Braden Montgomery and Miguel Vargas each ripped solo shots to the same part of the park.

Twins manager Derek Shelton knows his pitchers have their hands full this weekend.

"They're leading the American League in runs scored," Shelton said about the White Sox. "And in this ballpark (Rate Field), if you get the ball in the air, (it's trouble). ... They do a really good job of capitalizing on mistakes, and they've done it all year long."

Colson Montgomery and Vargas each hit his 30th home run of the season on Friday.

Chicago holds a 2 1/2-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central with 21 games to go. The White Sox are looking to capitalize on their ability to win at home, where they are 42-27 this season. Only the Tampa Bay Rays (47-25) have more home wins in the AL.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz praised manager Will Venable for the job he has done with a young team this season. Getz also praised Munetaka Murakami, who has 29 homers and 59 RBIs in his first year in the majors.

Getz expressed a willingness to seek a contract extension with Murakami, a 26-year-old who starred in Japan before coming to play in the majors.

"He's been a part of the success that we've had this year," Getz said Friday. "It's helped us win games. It's helped others gain confidence up here and believe that you can win games. That's certainly something that we're grateful for and thankful that we've gotten the opportunity to get to know him further.

"He's a tremendous teammate, hard worker, and he's been productive."

Twins right-hander Taj Bradley (10-6, 3.85 ERA) will try to silence Murakami and his fellow White Sox hitters on Saturday. Bradley leads Minnesota with 178 strikeouts in 154 1/3 innings and is the only pitcher on the staff with double-digit wins.

In his most recent outing, he earned the victory on Monday after limiting the Detroit Tigers to one run on four hits in seven innings. He walked three and struck out nine in an 11-1 win.

Bradley has faced the White Sox four times in his career, with turbulent results. He is 0-2 with a 10.47 ERA and has allowed 19 runs on 28 hits and 10 walks in 16 1/3 innings. Five walks came on June 3 in an 8-0 loss as Bradley allowed four runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five.

Chicago will counter with left-hander Anthony Kay (9-7, 4.28 ERA). He is winless in his past four starts and is looking for his first victory since an Aug. 8 triumph over Cleveland.

In one career start against Minnesota, Kay is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA. In a 3-1 home win on May 25, he held the Twins to one run on five hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out five.

Shelton acknowledged that time is running out for the Twins to make a push for a wild-card playoff spot. With 21 games to go, the Twins stand 4 1/2 games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the AL.

"It's challenging," Shelton said after Friday's loss. "(If) this game happens in May, you're like, ‘Hey, we got pitched to a little bit.' But as the calendar gets shorter, it's even more challenging."

--Field Level Media