Minnesota Twins

Gonzalez, Twins aim to keep things rolling against White Sox

Published Aug. 19, 2019 6:32 p.m. ET

Marwin Gonzalez has caught fire.

On Aug. 6, Gonzalez had just endured a 15-game stretch in which he collected a mere eight hits in 58 plate appearances (51 at-bats) -- a .157 batting average -- that lowered his season total to .246.

Since then, it’s been a different story.

Gonzalez has collected a hit in 10 of his last 11 games while knocking in 12 runs and tallying six extra-base hits. He went off during the Twins’ four-game sweep of Texas over the weekend, going 11-for-18 (.611 BA) with three doubles and six RBI.

Gonzalez’s 11 hits against the Rangers nearly shattered a Twins franchise record. Only Twins Hall of Famer Joe Mauer logged more hits in a four-game series when he tallied 12 against Cleveland back in 2016.

The Twins have followed Gonzalez’s lead. They hope it continues into this week.

Fresh off a 5-1 road trip, the Twins return home to host the Chicago White Sox for a three-game series.

It launches a rather odd run of 13 straight games against AL Central bottom-dwellers Chicago and Detroit for the Twins. The stretch begins with a pair of three-game series against the White Sox and Tigers at home, then three games in Chicago and finished off with another four games in Detroit.

Minnesota has won its last seven matchups with the White Sox at Target Field, dating back to late last season. The Twins crushed Chicago by scores of 11-4, 8-1 and 7-0 when the White Sox were visiting in May.

It seems like a perfect opportunity to grow a 2.5-game lead in the American League Central. Division rival Cleveland begins a three-game set against the red-hot New York Mets on Tuesday night.

TEAM	W-L	Pct.	GB	L10
Minnesota Twins	76-48	.613	-	6-4
Cleveland Indians	74-51	.592	2.5	5-5

NOTABLE

-- White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson owns a .411 batting average in August, which ranks fourth in the American League.

-- Over his last five outings, Chicago starting pitcher Ivan Nova has logged a 4-0 record, 0.49 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, four quality starts and two complete games.

-- Kyle Gibson has registered a 3-0 record, 1.42 ERA and 25 strikeouts over his last three outings against the White Sox, all quality starts.

Statistics courtesy Sportradar, baseball-reference.com