Three things are guaranteed when it comes to Minnesota Sports. The Vikings will have high expectations but come up short, the Timberwolves will have low expectations and meet or due worse than expected, and the Twins no matter how good or bad will have success against the White Sox. Minnesota is having one of their worst seasons in years, yet with their 1-0 victory on Thursday improved to 4-0 against the Sox on the season.
Mark Buehrle was the tough luck loser for the White Sox (33-37). Buehrle went seven innings and allowed only one run on just three hits. The lone run was a homerun in the 2nd inning by Michael Cuddyer.
The Sox hitters gave Buehrle (6-5) no help in the series finale. They stranded nine runners on base and managed no extra base hits. This is the sixth straight series the Sox have lost to the Twins.
Nick Blackburn (6-4) earned the victory for the Twins (28-39). Blackburn, winner of five straight decisions, threw eight scoreless innings allowing just seven hits. Anytime he seemed to get in trouble, the Sox would help him out by hitting in to a double play.
Matt Capps pitched the final inning and earned his ninth save of the season.
The Sox will now resume Interleague play for the next 15 games. First stop is a series in Arizona starting Friday against the surprising Diamondbacks.
The White Sox will hope that Mark Buehrle can end their six game straight losing streak to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon, as they try to bounce back from a 4-1 loss on Wednesday.
Buehrle is sporting a 6-4 record on the year, with a 3.95 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. He's coming off of a start against Oakland where he got the win after giving up three runs on seven hits over seven innings while striking out four. In his career against Minnesota, Buehrle is 25-18 with a 4.09 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.
Pitching for the Twins will be Nick Blackburn. Blackburn is 5-4 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. He's coming off of a start against Texas, in which he earned a no decision, after giving up four runs (two earned) on ten hits over 7.1 innings pitched. He also struck out six and walked one. In his last game against the Sox, Blackburn got the win after giving up one run on four hits over 6.2 innings pitched. Alex Rios was 2-for-3 in that game with a home run.
The weather in Minnesota is forecast to be partly cloudy, with a game time temperature in the upper 70's. First pitch is at 12:10 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on CSN and FS-N.
