Twins-White Sox series preview

LHP Chris Sale (12-7, 3.20) vs. RHP Tyler Duffey (2-1, 4.29)

LHP Carlos Rodon (6-5, 4.15) vs. LHP Tommy Milone (6-4, 3.86)

RHP Jeff Samardzija (8-11, 4.85) vs. RHP Kyle Gibson (9-9, 3.82)

They are 28-36 on the road and have lost four of their past seven road games. … Sale has pitched some of his worst games of this season against the Twins, going 1-3 with a 6.46 ERA against them. Minnesota has scored 20 runs off Sale, and all other opponents have scored 44. … Sale leads the AL in strikeouts with 229, and has an outside shot at becoming the first pitcher to eclipse 300 strikeouts in a season since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002. … Rodon, a rookie lefthander, has allowed 17 hits in 28 innings over his past four starts, posting a 1.61 ERA in those games. … Their 493 runs scored and 105 home runs both rank 14th in the AL. They also have been successful on only 60.4 percent of their stolen-base attempts (52-86). … Alexei Ramirez is a career .312 hitter against the Twins, with 17 home runs. Only five active visiting players have more home runs at Target Field than Ramirez's six.

They are 40-25 in Target Field, and have won four of their past five games at home. … They are 6-1 at home against the White Sox this season, and are 9-4 against Chicago overall, having won eight of the past 10 meetings. They have outscored the White Sox 78-35, and need only one victory to clinch the season series for the third straight year and 11th time since 2001. … Duffey has a 1.89 ERA over his past three starts. … Gibson is 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA in four career starts against the White Sox. … RF Torii Hunter, in a 19-for-115 slump (.165) since the All-Star break, owns a .282 career average against Chicago with 34 home runs, more than any team except Cleveland (36). Hunter is 16-for-52 (.333) with two home runs vs. the White Sox in 2015. … Closer Glen Perkins is 3-for-3 in save opportunities this season, and 15-for-18 in his career, against Chicago.

Phil Miller