Astudillo sparks Twins in 4-3 win as Sox streak ends at 4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dallas Keuchel was out of whack at the start with three walks in a two-run first inning.

The pitch that truly hurt the Chicago left-hander was the one he wanted to keep way out of the strike zone against Willians Astudillo, but Minnesota's energy man made him pay.

Astudillo hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Keuchel, and the Twins held on for a 4-3 victory to stop a four-game winning streak for the White Sox on Tuesday night.

“The pitch was three or four inches inside, so you’ve got to kind of just tip your cap to it,” said Keuchel, who allowed four runs in six innings with one strikeout.

Rookie starter Griffin Jax (3-1) gave the Twins a career-high six innings, after falling behind 3-2 on consecutive homers by Adam Engel and José Abreu in the third.

Jax, the first Air Force Academy graduate to appear in the major leagues, struck out a career-best 10 batters with only one walk against an intimidating White Sox offense that has homered in a season-most 12 straight games.

“You get one guy out and you turn your back and look at the plate, and then there’s another All-Star up there. I knew that going into the game that this was going to be a pretty tough lineup, but I was pretty proud of myself,” Jax said.

Said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli: “He really personifies a lot of the things that we’re looking for in our guys, and he handles himself very, very well.”

Keuchel (7-6) was left with a decidedly different feeling, after falling to 1-4 with a 5.72 ERA and 10 homers allowed in his last seven turns. He walked four in six innings, and three of those runners scored, including Miguel Sanó before Astudillo's big hit. The burly utilityman nicknamed La Tortuga dropped to one knee and muscled a 1-0 pitch into the left-field bleachers.

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Astudillo-sparks-Twins-in-4-3-win-as-Sox-streak-16378692.php