Tristan Gray belted a grand slam and finished with five RBIs, and the Minnesota Twins held on for a 9-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Josh Bell went 2-for-4 with a double for Minnesota, which snapped a five-game losing streak. Trevor Larnach finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Miguel Vargas went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs to lead Chicago. Andrew Benintendi finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for the White Sox, whose five-game winning streak ended.
Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (4-3) gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out nine.
White Sox right-hander David Sandlin (1-1) surrendered eight runs on eight hits in four-plus innings. He walked four and fanned four.
The Twins grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on Larnach’s RBI single to center field.
The White Sox evened the score at 1-all in the third. Sam Antonacci doubled to right, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on Benintendi’s two-out single to right.
Gray put Minnesota on top for good with his grand slam during the fourth. His blast over the wall in right-center field marked his second grand slam of the season, which is tied for the most in the majors.
The White Sox cut the deficit to 5-4 in the fifth. Vargas hit a two-run shot, and the next batter, Benintendi, also went deep.
Minnesota answered with another four-run inning to grab a 9-4 lead. The Twins started the big inning by loading the bases with no outs on two walks sandwiching a single, forcing Sandlin from the game.
White Sox right-hander Tyler Davis took over for Sandlin but did not fare any better. He gave up back-to-back RBI singles to Austin Martin and Victor Caratini for the inning’s first two runs, and he allowed sacrifice flies to Luke Keaschall and Gray in the next two plate appearances.
Vargas brought Chicago within 9-6 with a two-run blast in the top of the ninth, his second homer of the game and his 15th of the season.
