White Sox 8, Twins 2: Seven-run fourth proves Tommy Milone is mortal

Let it be known: The White Sox can hit Tommy Milone.

Milone, who entered the game 4-0 with a 1.39 ERA against the White Sox in seven career starts, opened with three shutout innings ... and then he didn't escape the fourth. Instead, he and the Twins defense caved in during a glorious seven-run assault that turned Jose Quintana's evening from arduous to easy.

The Sox had threatened Milone with a bases-loaded situation in the first, but he settled down to retire seven of the next eight before Trayce Thompson rifled a double to left to open the fourth. Then:

• Alexei Ramirez bounced a single through the middle to score Thompson on the first pitch.
• Mike Olt slashed a single through the left side.
• Geovany Soto bunted, Trevor Plouffe picked it up when it would've spun foul, then hit Soto with the throw for an error that loaded the bases.
• Carlos Sanchez shot a double past Plouffe for two runs, giving the Sox a 3-2 lead.
• Adam Eaton slapped a single through the left side for another run, and took second when Aaron Hicks missed the cutoff man.
  
• Melky Cabrera lifted a sac fly to right, and Eaton took third.
• Jose Abreu popped out.
• J.B. Shuck walked to end Milone's night.
  
• Thompson collected his second hit of the inning with an opposite-field single off Blaine Boyer.
• Boyer tried picking Shuck off third, and bounced the throw into foul territory, which allowed Shuck to score.

The inning finally ended on a Ramirez groundout, but the Sox had more than enough to hand Milone the loss. They scored as many runs off him in the fourth inning (seven) as they did in their previous 48⅓ innings.

Quintana, who needed 87 pitches to get through four innings, could let up a little bit. He had to strike out Miguel Sano with two on to get out of the fifth, but he returned for the sixth on 109 pitches a completed that in far tidier fashion (11 pitches).

His night ended smoother than it started. He gave up two first-inning runs. Part of it was his fault (he walked Hicks to start the game), but the defense let him down more. Abreu booted the potential second out to put runners on the corners, and then a Soto passed ball allowed him to come home. Plouffe's single drove in Mauer for an unearned run, but it's possible neither should have been on his tab during that 33-pitch first.

Nevertheless, he kept the Twins off the board the rest of the way, improving his record to 9-10 while lowering his ERA to 3.53.

It got a little dicey in the eighth inning, as Dan Jennings walked Mauer to open the inning (which should be a fine), and Daniel Webb left the bases loaded with one out for Zach Duke. Duke entered the game in a save situation, but he only needed one pitch to kill the threat, as Eduardo Escobar bounced into a 6-4-3 double play immediately.

Shuck added an RBI ground-rule double in the botttom of the eighth, and Jake Petricka pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Record: 67-73 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights