Tristan Peters is on the hottest streak of his brief career.
Peters will try to keep his special week going when he and his Chicago White Sox teammates take on the Minnesota Twins on Friday night in Minneapolis. It will be the opener of a three-game series between the American League Central rivals.
The White Sox arrive in first place in the division and have won back-to-back games and three of their past four contests.
Peters has been a huge reason for Chicago’s recent success. He has homered in five consecutive games, and during that span the rookie is hitting .556 (10-for-18) with nine RBIs, a .619 on-base percentage and a 1.500 slugging percentage.
Peters tied the White Sox franchise record for a home run streak. Seven other players also homered five games in a row: Munetaka Murakami (2026), Paul Konerko (2017), Carlos Lee (2017), A.J. Pierzynski (2012), Frank Thomas (twice in 1994), Ron Kittle (1983) and Greg Luzinski (1983). He also matched the MLB rookie record.
Now, Peters has a chance to move past some all-time greats and grab the records outright.
Not bad for a 2021 seventh-round pick out of Southern Illinois University by the Milwaukee Brewers.
“That’s crazy,” Peters, 26, said when asked about the franchise record. “I try not to get caught up too much in that, but obviously it’s out there, and I’ve seen it and thought about it a little bit.”
White Sox manager Will Venable said his young outfielder is putting on a show.
“It’s amazing,” Venable said. “I don’t know what words there are for what he’s doing. Really, really special. Really cool to watch.”
Minnesota will try to spoil Peters’ record chase as it looks to bounce back from a miserable road trip. The Twins went 1-5 against the San Diego Padres and the Athletics, and they need a strong homestand to bolster their chances for a wild-card playoff berth as the final month of the season approaches.
The Twins will host the White Sox for three games before hosting the Detroit Tigers for three more. Then the Twins hit the road to face those same division rivals — the White Sox for three contests from Sept. 4-6 and the Tigers for three games from Sept. 7-9.
It’s a critical stretch for Minnesota in the standings.
“I think everybody is going to show up to the yard next game ready to go and not thinking, ‘We just lost (on the road) and have to make up all these games,'” Twins infielder/outfielder Luke Keaschall said. “Now I think it’s important to be like, ‘We’ve got a ballgame today, and you’ve got to win that game.’
“I don’t think anybody is coming in here bummed out because we got swept and then lost a series. The vibes in the clubhouse before the game aren’t bad.”
White Sox right-hander Luis Castillo (4-10, 5.19 ERA) is set to take the mound in the series opener. He will try to recover from a tough outing his last time out as he allowed four runs on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings in a 10-5 home loss to the New York Mets on Saturday.
Castillo is 1-3 with a 5.57 ERA in 10 career starts against Minnesota.
The Twins will counter with right-hander Dean Kremer (2-4, 5.22). He has posted a 1-0 record and a 3.18 ERA in 22 2/3 innings since Minnesota acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles before the trade deadline.
In five career starts against the White Sox, Kremer is 4-0 with a 1.53 ERA.
–Field Level Media
