, who trail only the crosstown Cubs (22-6) for most victories. Mat Latos (5-0) labored through five innings before four relievers combined for four scoreless innings as the White Sox snapped a two-game skid. Benches cleared in the eighth when Trevor May hit Abreu with a 97 mph fastball. That came after Minnesota's Byung Ho Park was hit by a pitch in the top of the inning. White Sox manager Robin Ventura was ejected, but no players were tossed. Ricky Nolasco (1-1) gave up seven runs, five earned, and nine hits in five innings, and Oswaldo Garcia hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who fell to an AL-worst 8-21 despite a pregame roster shake-up. Twins shortstop Eduardo Escobar's fielding error in the first led to two unearned runs on Cabrera's two-run double. Escobar left with a groin injury in the third. Latos was far from sharp, giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings. But he got plenty of help to surpass his win total from last year with three teams. Abreu led off the third with a homer to left and the White Sox built a 7-4 lead on Brett Lawrie's RBI single in the fifth. Kurt Suzuki had two hits, including an RBI single in the second in Minnesota's seventh loss in eight games. Abreu began shouting at May after he was hit, leading to benches and bullpens emptying. Ventura, upset that May wasn't ejected, was tossed by crew chief Bill Miller. It was Ventura's second ejection of the season. SHAKE-UPCasey Fien sat at his locker before the game, knowing the reports that he and fellow reliever Tommy Milone had been placed on irrevocable waivers. Still, they were in better shape than relievers Ryan O'Rourke and J. R. Graham, who were designated for assignment. C John Ryan Murphy was also sent to Triple-A Rochester as the Twins began a roster overhaul. TRAINER'S ROOMTwins: There was no immediate word on the severity of Escobar's injury. . 2B Brian Dozier (right hamstring) sat out, but was confident he'll play Saturday. Dozier was injured leaving the batter's box in his first at-bat Wednesday. . Manager Paul Molitor said RHP Kyle Gibson (shoulder) won't be ready to come off the disabled list when he's eligible Monday. White Sox: C Alex Avila (strained right hamstring) went 0 for 1 with a walk to begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Charlotte. Manager Robin Ventura said Avila could rejoin the team as soon as Monday. UP NEXTWhite Sox LHP Chris Sale (6-0, 1.66 ERA) tries to become the majors' first seven-game winner Saturday. RHP Ervin Santana (0-1, 3.15), fresh off the disabled list following a back injury, starts for Minnesota.
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Time: 08:10 P.M. EST Venue: U. S. Cellular Field
Following horrendous 2015 campaigns, Mat Latos and Ricky Nolasco gave their respective rotations an early boost before coming back to Earth the last time out. Latos appears to have an easy landing spot Friday night against a Minnesota Twins team he dominated last month as the Chicago White Sox try to avoid a season high-tying third straight loss in the opener of a three-game series at U. S. Cellular Field. After going 4-10 with a 4.95 ERA for three clubs last season, Latos (4-0, 1.84 ERA) allowed two runs while winning his first four starts. However, he finally looked vulnerable Saturday when he gave up four over five innings in an 8-7 win at Baltimore. Now the right-hander should feel comfortable about returning to his early-season form. He held the Twins to one run and three hits over six innings in a 3-1 road victory April 14. Chicago struck out 22 while limiting Minnesota to two runs in that three-game sweep. The Twins (8-20) rank near the bottom of the majors with 3.5 runs per game, though they've shown some life of late by averaging 4.8 over their last four. Brian Dozier is 6 for 11 in his last three after hitting his fourth home run in Wednesday's 16-4 loss at Houston." We have to keep our heads up," starter Phil Hughes told the league's official website. "There are a lot of really talented guys in here. We have to keep plugging forward. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. Maybe our parents will, but that's about it. We need to stay loose and have fun." Minnesota will try to generate some offense for Nolasco (1-0, 4.05) as it looks to avoid its seventh loss in eight games. The right-hander is also hoping to rebound from his worst start of the season after giving up five runs over 5 2/3 innings in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Detroit. Nolasco had been a pleasant surprise with a 3.25 ERA over his first four starts after posting a career-worst 6.75 mark last season. He's 0-2 with a 6.63 ERA in three road starts versus Chicago (19-10). Brett Lawrie is 4 for 7 with a double off him while Dioner Navarro is 7 for 15 with a home run and two doubles and Melky Cabrera has gone 9 for 22 with a homer. Cabrera is also 8 for 17 over his past four games against the Twins and Lawrie is batting .351 during a 14-game hitting streak against them dating to his time with Toronto. Jose Abreu is 3 for 8 with a long ball when facing Nolasco, and he had been hitting .438 with 10 RBIs over an eight-game stretch before going 0 for 5 in Thursday's 7-3 loss to Boston. The White Sox haven't dropped three in a row at home since Aug. 2-4.'' We had a lot of opportunities," manager Robin Ventura said. Avisail Garcia, though, was 2 for 4 with a home run in his return from a four-game absence due to a hamstring injury. He's 8 for 18 with two homers over his last five. Minnesota had success at Chicago last season, winning four of the six meetings.
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