Gibson outpitches Sale as Twins pound White Sox

CHICAGO Chris Sale, four-time All-Star and Cy Young contender, against Kyle Gibson, Twins pitcher with a sub-.500 career record?

Yep, it was every bit the mismatch you might have expected Sunday.

That is, if you were aware of each team’s history against its mound opponent. The Twins have absolutely clubbed Sale this season, while the White Sox are one of Gibson’s least-threatening tasks. Sure enough, the Twins punished Sale again, Gibson didn’t allow a run, and the Twins completed their 10-day road trip with a 7-0 blowout victory at U.S. Cellular Field.

In Gibson’s last outing, he fell behind 4-0 in the first inning. This time, the Twins handed the right-hander a 4-0 lead of his own, and Gibson never let it become endangered. He scattered five hits over 7 2/3 innings, allowed only one White Sox runner to reach third base, and improved to 10-10 on the year with his team-high fifth scoreless start.

Sale, on the other hand, was battered yet again by the Twins, particularly with two outs. Torii Hunter launched a long home run into the left-center seats, the 350th of his career, to drive in three runs, and four consecutive two-out singles in the third inning produced two more runs. That brings to 27 the number of runs scored by the Twins against Chicago’s ace, who now has a 7.36 ERA against Minnesota this season and a 2.73 mark against everyone else.

Gibson is now 3-0 against Chicago this year, with an 0.94 ERA.

The victory gave the Twins a 5-4 record on their final three-city trip. They come home Monday to begin a 10-game homestand with Detroit.

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