Twins, White Sox resume series
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Right-hander Liam Hendriks takes an 11th career crack at a first career victory tonight when the Minnesota Twins go for a second straight win in the middle game of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Target Field.
The Twins got a mound gem from former phenom Francisco Liriano in Monday's opener, winning 4-1 in third baseman Kevin Youkilis' debut with the White Sox after a trade from Boston.
Youkilis went 1-for-4, one day after coming from the Red Sox for utilityman Brent Lillibridge and righty Zach Stewart.
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"It felt weird being with different guys," he said. "Thinking of everything that has transpired, the mind was kind of racing a little bit."
His single came after Liriano (2-7) threw seven strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks while fanning five.
Chicago's Jake Peavy (6-4), whose earned run average was three runs lower than Liriano's coming in, was charged with three runs on 10 hits over six frames.
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Chicago had won three of four before getting outhit, 14-5. Minnesota's top three hitters - Denard Span, Ben Revere and Joe Mauer - combined to go 9- for-14 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Hendriks a 23-year-old native of Australia, reached the majors with the Twins last season and was 0-2 in four starts with a 6.17 earned run average across 23 1/3 innings.
He began 2012 with one loss in three starts in April, dropped a 9-0 decision to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in May and returned in mid-June after going 5-0 in seven starts at Triple-A Rochester.
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His two starts this month have yielded another two losses against Milwaukee and Pittsburgh while Minnesota has been outscored, 15-3.
In fact, in his six appearances, the Twins have given up 40 runs and scored just 17.
Hendriks appeared once against the White Sox last season and allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings of a 3-0 loss on Sept. 6, his major-league debut.
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Chicago counters with righty Gavin Floyd, who'll seek to end a career's worth of frustration against the Twins.
The 29-year-old from Maryland, who's a game above .500 in 125 major-league decisions, is 4-11 in 16 starts against Minnesota with a bloated 6.29 earned run average in 97 1/3 innings.
He last faced the Twins on May 22 in Chicago and dropped a 9-2 decision after allowing all nine runs on eight hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings.
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In five starts since, he's split four decisions, including a 7-0 defeat of the Chicago Cubs in his most recent outing on June 20.
The teams split 18 games last season and the White Sox have not won a season series with the Twins since 2005. So far in 2012, Chicago took the final two games of a three-game set at U.S. Cellular Field in May.