Twins Begin Wild-Card Chase Against White Sox

The Chicago White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in the series opener, strengthening their position atop the AL Central while Minnesota remained three games out of the final AL wild-card spot with 22 games left. Miguel Vargas, Braden Montgomery and Colson Montgomery homered for Chicago, with Colson’s 416-foot shot marking his 30th of the season; Josh Bell hit Minnesota’s lone home run in the ninth. Erick Fedde limited the Twins to three hits and two runs over five innings, while Zebby Matthews suffered his first loss since July 24 after allowing four hits and four runs in five innings. The loss ended Matthews’ five-start winning streak, and Minnesota stranded nine runners while going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Chicago entered the series seeking to rebound from four losses in five games and had won two of three against Minnesota in the teams’ previous series.