Willi Castro and the Twins hope to stay hot as Minnesota looks to complete a four-game sweep against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Castro provided the biggest offensive boost on Wednesday as the Twins prevailed 6-3. While celebrating his 27th birthday, he went 2-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer to lift Minnesota to its third straight win.
The Twins remain three games below .500, but a successful series against Chicago has given players renewed confidence in the final week of April.
“We’ve got to keep rolling,” Castro said. “It’s a long season, and yeah, we have the team to win.”
The White Sox are pointing in the opposite direction.
Chicago hopes to snap a six-game losing streak in the series finale. The White Sox have lost 21 of their first 24 games, including eight shutout defeats.
Every loss has presented a new issue for White Sox manager Pedro Grifol to digest. After the Wednesday setback, he bristled when asked about a fly ball that dropped between shortstop Paul DeJong and left fielder Andrew Benintendi.
“I think it was a really high catch probability on that ball,” Grifol said. “I have to talk to both of those guys and see why that play wasn’t made. I think it was over 90 percent, so that play has got to be made. We’ll talk to those guys and see what the communication was.”
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 1.50 ERA) will be recalled from Triple-A Saint Paul on Thursday to start against Chicago. Woods Richardson is set to make his second major league start of the season and the third of his career.
In his first outing of 2024, Woods Richardson limited the Detroit Tigers to one run on two hits in six innings during the nightcap of a doubleheader on April 13. He walked one and struck out five, and he threw 53 of 80 pitches for strikes before getting optioned back to the minors.
The 23-year-old from Sugar Land, Texas, has never faced the White Sox.
Chicago will counter with right-hander Michael Soroka (0-3, 7.50 ERA), who is set to make his sixth start of the season. He has failed to pitch five innings in each of his past three starts, including his latest outing on Saturday at Philadelphia. He gave up five runs, including a two-run homer, on six hits in 4 2/3 innings against the Phillies.
Soroka has faced the Twins once in his career. He held them to three runs on six hits in seven innings but left with a no-decision back in 2019.
One Twins hitter Soroka might have to watch out for is Max Kepler. He came in as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning on Wednesday and finished 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI to continue his hot streak since returning from the injured list on Monday. Kepler was sidelined for 13 games due to a bruised right knee.
“It’s a big impact,” Castro said of having Kepler healthy. “When we lost him, when we got hurt, it was really sad. But it’s great to have him back because he’s a guy that brings the energy every day. He’s a great teammate.”
–Field Level Media
