The Chicago White Sox (29-40) have tumbled into last place in the American League Central division, and will try to right the ship in an afternoon game against the Minnesota Twins (32-36) that can be live streamed here at 1:10 p.m. White Sox fans can tune in to the radio broadcast on WSCR 670, while Twins fans can listen in on 96.3 K-Twin.
The White Sox will send John Danks (1-3, 4.50 ERA) to the hill to face the surprising Twins, who were widely expected to be the cellar-dweller of the AL Central. They have gotten major production from hometown catcher Joe Mauer in 2013, who has posted a predictably excellent .324 batting average this season.
2013 has been exceptional for Mauer though, thanks to an uptick in power that is reminding Twins fans of his 2009 MVP campaign. In addition to the high average, Mauer has swatted seven home runs already, after hitting 10 all of last year. He has 23 RBI, and a .486 slugging percentage, his highest since 2009.
The White Sox offense has been terrible in 2013, with Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and co. all having disappointing seasons. They rank second to last in the American League in runs per game (3.62), while their solid starting pitching has kept them from tumbling into Miami Marlins and Houston Astros territory.
The only bright spot offensively for the White Sox has been outfielder Alex Rios, who is hitting .282 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI to go with 12 stolen bases. Zack Diamond (4-6, 5.29 ERA) will face the White Sox' dormant offense, but his numbers suggest an opportunity for the Pale Hose to get going.
"I feel like it's definitely coming around. I just need to prevent these big innings," Diamond said. "It's getting pretty frustrating, and it's not letting me get later into the game."
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