Twins and White Sox are both hurting, but only one team has been resilient

CHICAGO – Twins and White Sox players on Monday warmed up in the outfield while a tarp covered the infield. That included Twins righthander Kenta Maeda — who was scheduled to start that night.

That was a clue something was up. Why would he warm up so early on a day he's due to pitch? Suspicions were confirmed when early-arriving scribes to Guaranteed Rate Field were soon informed that Monday's game was being postponed because of the threat of rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on July 19. Maeda will start Tuesday, allowing him to spend some time Monday sharpening his mechanics.

A thunderstorm rolled through earlier Monday but stopped around 3:30 p.m., and forecasts suggested the field would be dry by first pitch. So this one looked a little fishy.

Chicago is beat up, having lost seven of its past nine. On Sunday, the White Sox completed a suspended game before playing a seven-inning game. Somebody's bullpen needed a breather.

This is about the only thing the first-place White Sox and the Twins, who were last in the AL Central before the "rainout," have in common this season — postponing games using flimsy evidence. Two days earlier, the Twins appeared to practice load management when they called off their game against Cleveland under similarly unthreatening weather conditions.

Chicago entered 2021 looming as the main challenger to the two-time defending Central champion Twins. What was expected to be one of baseball's best divisional races has been torpedoed by a broken-down, mistake-prone, pitching-deficient Twins team. The result is the White Sox lead the Twins by 11½ games and look headed to their first division title since 2008.

Injuries have decimated both teams. The Twins have used seven center fielders this season. Chicago has used six, including non-slugger Billy Hamilton, signed in March after he was cut by Cleveland. Hamilton, by the way, currently is on the injured list.

Josh Donaldson had one of the first injuries of the season in baseball when he pulled a hamstring while running to second on a double on Opening Day. Well, Chicago's Eloy Jimenez hasn't played an inning this season because of a torn left pectoral tendon. Luis Robert is out because of a hip flexor issue. In all, nine White Sox players are on the injured list.

Good teams play through the trainer's room. First baseman Jose Abreu has tried to carry the team but is iffy this week because of a bone bruise after being hit with a pitch by the Mariners' J.T. Chargois on Sunday. Probably another reason not to play Monday.

The White Sox are able to absorb these blows because of a pitching staff whose 3.45 ERA is nearly 1.5 runs lower than the Twins. Their decisions to add starter Lance Lynn and closer Liam Hendriks have paid off while the Twins additions — Matt Shoemaker, J.A. Happ and Alexander Colome — have failed more than they have sailed. No White Sox starter has an ERA over 3.96 and they know who their closer is. That makes a difference.

While Twins fans are debating how much of the roster should be shipped off before the trade deadline, the White Sox are adding. They need a second baseman since Nick Madrigal is out for the season because of a torn hamstring. And they reportedly are eyeing former Twins favorite Eduardo Escobar, who is playing with Arizona.

The Twins are digging in for seven games vs. the White Sox over the next two weeks, which they are seeing as a last stand. They don't have their best player, center fielder Byron Buxton, available because of a left hand fracture. They are handing the ball to rookie Bailey Ober on Wednesday. Miguel Sano is nearly unplayable against righthanded pitchers. They have two starters on the injured list. They still can't identify a closer.

And, as they prepare for a delayed start to a series against their division rival while 10 games under .500 and time running out, they might have to look across the diamond and see Eddie the Stick staring back at them.