White Sox lose two out of three to Minnesota Twins in opening series

Nelson Cruz

They say starting pitching sets the tone, right?

Well, Lucas Giolito was terrible in the season opener Friday night, and the White Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins, 10-5. And Reynaldo Lopez was a combination of bad and injured Sunday, and that led to a 14-2 loss to Minnesota.

Fortunately, Dallas Keuchel had a good outing in the second game of the three-game series, and the Sox won that one going away, 10-3.

We also learned in this opening series that Minnesota slugger Nelson Cruz still owns the Sox. He went a combined 7 for 13 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in these three games. Plenty of players don't produce that in a month.

And, we also learned that the baseball gods hate service time manipulation, as Leury Garcia's poor defense at second base played a key role in Giolito's demise Friday. Garcia botched two plays in the top of the first inning that helped the Twins score four runs.

Sure, Garcia redeemed himself in Game 2 with a home run from each side of the plate, but Garcia's presence in the lineup isn't the problem -- he's playing the wrong position. He should be in right field during Nomar Mazara's absence, and prospect Nick Madrigal should be playing second base. You have to believe Madrigal makes those plays Friday night, but the Sox sent him to Schaumburg to make sure they save a year of service time.

Typical, cheap, rebuilding sort of move from a team that claims to be a contender now.

The team that is "playing to win" has the shaky Garcia playing in the infield, and Nicky Delmonico is playing right field.

Delmonico, a career .223 hitter who cannot field, went 0 for 9 with a walk in the series and missed two cutoff men in the same inning. But hey! By Sunday, he had moved up to second in the lineup!

Go figure.

Here's some other thoughts on each game:

Friday, July 24
Twins 10, White Sox 5: First the good news. Yoan Moncada went 3 for 5 with a three-run homer in the second inning that tied the game at 5, after the Sox had fallen behind 5-1. And Luis Robert singled in his first MLB at-bat and finished 2 for 4 with a double. The prized rookie looked like he belonged from the very start.

Giolito, unfortunately, was terrible. He wasn't helped by Garcia's defense, but his fastball command was nowhere to be found. He gave up two home runs to Max Kepler, including one on the first pitch of the season. He lasted only 3.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on six hits. He struck out three and walked three.

The short outing caused manager Rick Renteria to run through his bullpen trying to keep the game close. Eight Sox pitchers were used. Seven relievers combined to give up three runs, and the Sox did not score again after Moncada's homer in the second. It was an ugly season opener.

Saturday, July 25
White Sox 10, Twins 3: The South Siders beat the Twins at their own game in this one, homering five times. Sure, Cruz got his for Minnesota -- he hit a three-run shot off Steve Cishek in the sixth.

However, the rest of this game was all Sox. Garcia's two homers produced four runs. Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Eloy Jimenez backed him up with a solo shot. James McCann also homered in the sixth.

That made a winner out of Keuchel, who was very good. He limited the Twins to only one hit through five. Minnesota got a couple of singles off him in the sixth, and he ended up being charged with two runs when Cishek allowed his inherited runners to score.

Nevertheless, it was an encouraging outing for the veteran lefty, who has looked good every time he's gone to the mound this month.

Sunday, July 26
Twins 14, White Sox 2: This game can be summed up on one play in the top of the first inning. Jake Cave hit a grand slam off Lopez with two outs, and Jimenez crashed into the wall and hurt himself trying to make a play on the ball, which cleared the fence quite easily, frankly.

Two batters later, Lopez still was not out of the inning and he left trailing 4-0 with right shoulder tightness. Jimenez continued for one more inning, before leaving with lightheadedness.

Gio Gonzalez provided little relief, as he was touched up for five runs in the top of the second inning. So, it was 9-0 Twins after an inning and a half.

Nobody would have blamed you if you turned off your TV, although you would have missed Robert's first career homer, a two-run shot in the fifth.

And, you know, Cruz went 4 for 5 with two doubles, two homers and seven RBIs. Get that guy out of our sight already.

Next up for the Sox is a three-game series in Cleveland against the Indians. Here are your pitching probables:

Monday, 6:10 p.m.: Dylan Cease vs. Aaron Civale
Tuesday, 6:10 p.m.: Carlos Rodon vs. Zach Plesac
Wednesday, 5:10 p.m: Giolito (0-1, 17.18 ERA) vs. Shane Bieber (1-0, 0.00 ERA(