Willi Castro celebrated his 27th birthday by hitting a 3-run homer, and Joe Ryan pitched for six innings to secure his first win of the season as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Wednesday.
Castro’s home run came during a four-run second inning against Chicago’s left-hander Garrett Crochet. It marked his second career home run on his birthday and brought in Austin Martin and Christian Vásquez.
“It’s been my best birthday yet,” Castro expressed.
Entering the game with a batting average of .169, one home run, and four RBIs, Castro was among several struggling Twins hitters in the early part of the season. He also contributed a double off Crochet in the fourth inning, marking his second multi-hit game of the year.
Ryan (1-1) recorded a pair of three-strikeout innings but also allowed solo homers in the third inning to Kevin Pillar and Korey Lee.
Despite this, the Twins righty struck out eight batters and conceded three runs to secure his first win in five starts.
After the two homers, Ryan rebounded by striking out three batters in a scoreless fourth inning, all of them swinging. He concluded his night with a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
“He remained focused throughout the game,” praised Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “It was a solid outing for Joe. He continued to generate strikeouts and avoid walks. That’s what we want.”
With a season-high 13 hits, Minnesota has now won the first three games of the four-game series against the struggling White Sox, who currently hold the worst record in the majors at 3-21.
Crochet (1-4) allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings, extending his losing streak to three consecutive outings.
