TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 4
MINNEAPOLIS -- After a rough summer, Jorge Polanco has ramped up his production at the right time for the Minnesota Twins.
From both sides of the plate and with both sides of his game.
Polanco homered twice and Ervin Santana struck out seven while pitching into the seventh inning, leading the Minnesota Twins past the Chicago White Sox 6-4 on Tuesday night.
"He's doing everything right now," Santana said in praise of Polanco, who made a diving stop of Tim Anderson's groundball to start an inning-ending fielder's choice in the second.
Not only was this Polanco's first career multi-home run game, the 24-year-old shortstop became the fifth player in Twins history to go deep from both sides of the plate in the same contest. The others were Roy Smalley (1986), Chili Davis (1992), Ryan Doumit (2012) and Kennys Vargas (2016).
Eduardo Escobar drove in two runs for the Twins, who started the day with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the crowded race for the second AL wild card. Santana (14-7) matched his highest total for victories since he was a 17-game winner in 2010 with the Angels.
Jose Abreu went 4 for 4 with 1 walk and 2 RBI for the White Sox, who fell to 4-17 in their last 21 road games.
Boosted by a surge of production from their promising young hitters and buoyed by the steadiness of veteran starters Santana and Bartolo Colon, the Twins are 18-10 this month.
Only six games are left on their schedule against teams on pace for the playoffs. Including the White Sox this week, they're facing six opponents in the other 26 games with losing records and a combined 70 games under .500 entering play on Tuesday.
Matt Belisle pitched the ninth for his fifth save, completing a successful transition from Santana to the bullpen.
Santana was removed with two outs in the seventh, the 21st time in 27 starts he has completed six frames. He struck out the last batter of the inning three times, including All-Star Avisail Garcia on a 92-mph fastball in the third with two runners in scoring position. Garcia angrily cocked his right arm against his leg after swinging and missing.
James Shields (2-5) has not won for the White Sox in 10 starts. He's been better this month, thanks in part to an alteration of his arm angle, but this was a mediocre output with 5 hits and 5 walks allowed in 5 innings. He left with a 4-0 deficit.
ORIOLES 4, MARINERS 0 Dylan Bundy threw a one-hitter for his first career shutout, Manny Machado hit two of Baltimore's four solo home runs, and the Orioles extended their winning streak to six games with a victory over visiting Seattle.
RED SOX 3, BLUE JAYS 0 Chris Sale and two relievers combined on a four-hitter, Hanley Ramirez hit a solo home run and Boston beat host Toronto.
ROYALS 6, RAYS 2 Whit Merrifield, Jorge Bonifacio and Eric Hosmer homered as Kansas City snapped a 45-inning scoreless streak on the way to a victory over visiting Tampa Bay.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 8, MARLINS 3 Giancarlo Stanton tied a major league record with his 18th home run in August, but Anthony Rendon had four RBI and host Washington beat Miami.
REDS 14, METS 4 Scott Schebler hit his first career grand slam, and Cincinnati ended its 14-game losing streak against visiting New York.
CARDINALS 10, BREWERS 2 Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run and Luke Voit drove in four runs, backing Luke Weaver's 10-strikeout night in a St. Louis victory over host Milwaukee.
CUBS 4, PIRATES 1 Jake Arrieta continued his dominant second half with six innings of two-hit ball, Ben Zobrist homered and Chicago beat visiting Pittsburgh.
INTERLEAGUE
ROCKIES 7, TIGERS 3 Nolan Arenado capped a four-run seventh inning with his 30th home run, and Colorado beat visiting Detroit. Colorado increased its lead to four games over Milwaukee for the second NL wild card.
Sports on 08/30/2017