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          Chicago White Sox Report

          Rapid Reaction: White Sox 5, Twins 1

          • Doug Padilla, ESPN Staff WriterSep 13, 2014, 06:48 PM ET
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              Doug covers the Los Angeles Dodgers for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN Chicago in July 2010 and covered the Chicago White Sox for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN Radio 1000 through the 2015 season.
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          CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox opened a doubleheader Saturday against the Minnesota Twins with a 5-1 victory.

          How it happened: Jose Quintana was all business, striking out a career-best 13 batters, while giving up one run over seven innings. The White Sox got on the board in the third inning on Alexei Ramirez’s two-run home run, his 15th homer of the season. Andy Wilkins, Marcus Semien and Tyler Flowers added late RBIs. Jose Abreu had two doubles. The White Sox won their third consecutive home game, matching a season high.

          What it means: The White Sox’s pitching staff continues to roll this month. Going back to Wednesday’s game against the Oakland Athletics, White Sox pitchers had delivered 21 consecutive scoreless innings, a run that was snapped in the eighth inning Saturday. White Sox starters have posted a 1.89 ERA over eight games. They have delivered a quality start in every one of those games.

          Outside the box: Not necessarily known as a strikeout machine, Quintana flirted with one team strikeout record. Over the fifth and sixth innings, the left-hander struck out six consecutive batters. That was one off the team record set by Joe Cowley in 1986. After the Twins' Kennys Vargas grounded out to start the seventh inning, Quintana struck out the next two batters to give him a run of eight strikeouts over nine batters.

          Off beat: Amazing how even a minimal amount of runs can look like a windfall when the pitching staff is delivering. The White Sox improved to 4-1 on the homestand with the victory in the first game of the doubleheader. The success sort of hides the fact that the offense came off a series victory against the A’s in which it batted .198 and was actually outscored 16-10. The five runs Saturday were exactly what the White Sox had scored combined in the final three games against the A’s, when they went 2-1.

          Up next: The White Sox will send right-hander Scott Carroll (5-10, 4.92 ERA) to the mound Saturday night in the second game of the doubleheader. The Twins will counter with left-hander Logan Darnell (0-2, 8.64) in the game from U.S. Cellular Field.