CHICAGO -- Alejandro De Aza smacked two home runs and Chris Sale delivered a vintage performance with 7 1/3 innings of three-run ball as the White Sox beat the Twins, 5-3, before a sold-out crowd of 37,422 on Opening Day.
De Aza, who hit a two-run homer in the second and a solo shot in the sixth, became the first White Sox player to hit two home runs on Opening Day since Jim Thome at Cleveland in 2008, and the first to do so at home since Minnie Minoso in 1960.
It was more than enough support for Sale, who cruised through the Twins after allowing two of Minnesota three runs in the third.
Sale (1-0) tossed 108 pitches, 70 for strikes, giving up all three runs on a pair of Kurt Suzuki two-out singles. He allowed five hits while striking out eight and walking one.
 
De Aza's HRs help White Sox to 5-3 opening day win over Twins
 
De Aza got the scoring started in the second with a two-run blast to right, scoring Jose Abreu, who led off the inning with a scorching double to right that Oswaldo Arcia misplayed for his first Major League hit. The homer came after Avisail Garcia grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, Chicago's second in as many innings.
The Twins evened the score in the next half-inning on Suzuki's two-run single.  
Continuing the back-and-forth theme, the White Sox struck back with another pair of runs in the bottom of the third, with the club's newest addition providing the punch. Adam Eaton led off with a single to right, his second in as many trips and on just the third pitch he had seen from Twins starter Ricky Nolasco (0-1).
Following a one-out double by Conor Gillaspie, Abreu continued his much-anticipated debut by lacing a one-out single to left, knocking home Eaton and moving Gillaspie to third. Adam Dunn followed with the rarest of sacrifice flies to bring home Gillaspie, hitting a weak foul ball near the tarp in left. With the infield swung well around to the right for Dunn, Pedro Florimon raced all the way from behind the second-base bag to make a sliding grab. Gillaspie hustled down the line to barely beat Florimon's throw home, giving the White Sox a 4-2 lead.
De Aza expanded the lead in the sixth with his second homer, turning around a high fastball and sneaking it just over the wall and into the Twins' bullpen in right for a 5-2 lead.
Suzuki's eighth-inning single off reliever Ronald Belisario scored Aaron Hicks, who led off the inning with a double, to cut the Sox lead to 5-3. Left-hander Donnie Veal came on with two outs, getting Joe Mauer to ground out and strand Suzuki on base.
Nolasco lasted six innings, giving up five runs (all earned) on 10 hits with four strikeouts and two walks. 
Matt Lindstrom, named the White Sox closer earlier in the day, allowed a one-out double to Chris Colabello but worked a scoreless ninth inning for the save.
Joe Popely / MLB.com
 

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