Even with three power-hitting regulars out of the lineup, the Minnesota Twins on Thursday found a way to keep on slugging.
Jake Cave homered twice, C.J. Cron went deep and the surging Twins set a major league record for home runs on the road in a 10-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Cave led off the third with a drive off Dylan Cease to give Minnesota 139 homers away from home, eclipsing the mark of 138 set by San Francisco in 2001.
Cron, the next hitter, followed with a homer to center.
Cave added a shot in the seventh for his second career multi-homer game, increasing the Twins’ overall total to 261.
The record for homers in a season, 267, was set last year by the New York Yankees.
“I just think hitting is contagious and that goes with the homers as well,” said Cave, who has seven this season. “We were missing some really good players out there.”
Max Kepler did not start for a third straight game as he rests a sore right knee. Miguel Sano, who has 26 homers, was not in the lineup because of right forearm tightness after being hit by a pitch on Wednesday and a gastrointestinal issue. Marwin Gonzalez, who has gone deep 15 times, missed his second game with an abdominal/oblique strain.
It did not matter for American League Central-leading Minnesota, who won their fifth straight.
“I still think we had a great lineup out there,” Cave said. “I just think that goes to show how dangerous we are.”
Manager Rocco Baldelli said he does not need to force top players into the lineup when they at less than 100 percent.
“Almost every person in our lineup has been down at some point this year,” Baldelli said. “Every single guy that we’ve turned to to fill in those spots has produced.”
In sweeping a three-game series with sliding Chicago, Minnesota (82-51) moved to 31 games above .500 for the first time since September 2010.
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