CHICAGO — Mick Abel’s first pitch to Colson Montgomery missed badly, well wide of the zone. His second pitch to the Chicago White Sox shortstop was right over the heart of the zone. And Montgomery didn’t miss it, bashing a pitch left over the heart of the zone out to right field.
A day after Royce Lewis hit a grand slam, Montgomery returned the favor, his second-inning blast helping spoil Abel’s Twins debut in Chicago’s 7-3 win on Saturday night at Rate Field.
The grand slam capped a six-run inning for the White Sox and came immediately after the Twins’ rookie had issued a bases-loaded walk to bring home the go-ahead run. All told, the White Sox had three singles, a pair of walks and a home run in the second against Abel as they took firm control of the game. Five of the six runs they scored came with two outs.
Abel, acquired as part of the return from the Philadelphia Phillies for star closer Jhoan Duran, lasted three innings in his first start as a Twin.
Projected to be a rotation piece for the Twins moving forward, Abel began his Twins career in Triple-A, making three starts for the Saints before the Twins called upon him Saturday. It marked just the seventh start of his career for Abel, who was the 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft and is now among the Twins’ top pitching prospects.
After his departure, Thomas Hatch came on in relief and threw five strong innings, giving up just a solo home run and helping keep the game in check, but the Twins could never pull back even.
All three Twins runs came via the solo home runs — Kody Clemens hit one in the second inning, Matt Wallner his 17th of the season in the fourth and Lewis his second in as many days in the seventh.
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