Twins 2 - 3 White Sox
Final
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Hughes takes ball for Twins against White Sox

May 22, 2015 - 2:47 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Minnesota Twins turn to hurler Phil Hughes and his three-start winning streak on Friday night when they open up a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox.

Hughes began his campaign with four consecutive setbacks, but has not lost since April 24. He picked up a no-decision against Detroit to close out his April, then beat Oakland and Cleveland to begin this month despite giving up a total of nine runs and 19 hits over 12 1/3 combined innings.

The right-hander was much sharper on Friday against Tampa Bay, limiting the Rays to a pair of runs over seven innings. Hughes scattered five hits and one walk, moving to 3-4 on the year with a 4.76 earned run average.

Hughes is just below .500 for his career against the White Sox, going 4-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 16 games (12 starts). That includes a 6-2 loss in Chicago on April 12, when he gave up three runs over six innings of work.

The Twins are keeping pace in a competitive AL Central with victories in four of their past five games. That includes a recently-completed two-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Minnesota finished off the set in dramatic fashion, winning 4-3 on Wednesday in 13 innings on Joe Mauer's first home run of the season.

Mauer's homer off Antonio Bastardo was Minnesota's first run since Torii Hunter hit a three-run double in the top of the first inning. He lined a slider over the high right-field wall with one out for his first home run since Aug. 17.

"I was just waiting until we played the 13th inning to do it," Mauer said with a laugh. "I knew I hit it well. I was just hoping it was high enough with that wall out there."

The Twins look to win a third game in a row tonight in a matchup with the White Sox' Jeff Samardzija, who eyes a third straight winning decision.

The right-hander struggled in allowing seven runs -- five earned -- over six innings of a no-decision in Milwaukee on May 11, but rebounded six days later to record a 7-3 victory over hosting Oakland. Samardzija turned in a quality outing by holding the Athletics to three runs on eight hits and three walks over eight innings of work, matching his longest start of the season. He also fanned five against his former club.

"As the game went one I felt more comfortable," Samardzija said. "I have the utmost respect for those guys over there."

Samardzija is 3-2 this season with a 4.58 ERA and that includes a no-decision versus the Twins on April 11. He yielded four runs on eight hits over seven innings, but did not walk a batter and struck out six. The 30-year- old is 1-1 in this matchup with a 7.56 ERA in three starts.

The White Sox followed up a six-game winning streak by losing the final three contests of a four-game set with the Cleveland Indians. They failed to earn a split of the series on Thursday, falling 5-2.

John Danks took the loss after giving up five runs on six hits and four walks. Danks settled down and pitched into the sixth inning, but the left-hander struggled mightily early on. He allowed back-to-back homers in the first inning and yielded four runs in total during the frame.

Tyler Flowers' two-run homer off Bryan Shaw in the ninth spoiled Cleveland's shutout bid. Jose Abreu went 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 16 games for Chicago.

The Twins are 5-2 against the White Sox this season, having swept a four-game set in Minnesota from April 30-May 3 in the last encounter.






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