The Twins and Braves will both enter yet another day without a win on the 2016 season, as both clubs lost again on Thursday to move to 0-9. The Twins have already set the mark for the worst start in franchise history, while the Braves can match their franchise-worst start with a loss to the Marlins on Friday. It’s the first time two teams have started 0-9 or worse since 1988 (Braves, Orioles) and the third time since 1884, per ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.
The White Sox bested the Twins behind six strong innings from Mat Latos, who yielded only one run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Jose Abreu opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single off of Ervin Santana, and Avisail Garcia added a solo home run in the third as the White Sox went on to win 3-1. The Twins are averaging 1.56 runs per game so far.
Meanwhile, Bryce Harper downed the Braves with a grand slam -- his first career grand slam and his 100th career homer -- off of Julio Teheran in what ended up a 6-2 victory for the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg held the Braves to the two runs on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings. The Braves are hitting .196 as a team.
On Friday evening, the Twins will host the Angels, with Tommy Milone opposing Garrett Richards. The Braves visit the Marlins, sending Williams Perez out to the mound against Wei-Yin Chen.