Royce Lewis has 4 RBIs, Twins send White Sox to 18th straight loss with 10-2 romp

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Royce Lewis homered and had a season-high four RBIs and the Minnesota Twins sent the Chicago White Sox to their 18th straight loss, romping to a 10-2 victory Friday night.

The futility streak is the longest in the majors since Baltimore lost 19 straight in August 2021. Chicago had just three hits.

Willi Castro and Byron Buxton homered in a six-run eighth inning.

Miguel Vargas went deep for the White Sox.

The White Sox have been outscored 112-39 during their skid and scored three or fewer runs in 13 of 14 games since the All-Star break.

“Going out there and winning games is what we need to think about,” Vargas said.

Lewis lined a two-run home run in the first and laced a two-run double to the gap in right center in the third.

“I just got some pitches that I think he left over the middle plate a little more than he wanted to,” Lewis said.

A sparkplug for Minnesota’s offense when healthy, Lewis was 4 for 19 in his previous six games after missing 16 because of a right adductor strain. A right quad strain in the season opener led to 63 games being missed.

He has 12 home runs and 25 RBI in 31 games this season, and he has eight games of at least four RBI in 101 career games.

In the eighth, Christian Vázquez had a two-run double before Castro and Buxton each hit two-run home runs.

Joe Ryan (7-7) allowed three hits and struck out seven across 6 1/3 innings for his first victory in four starts. He has 25 straight starts of at least five innings. That includes all 22 this year, the fourth-longest streak in baseball.

“I think it’s a nice, real step for a Joe Ryan at this point in his career to sit here and say, `We expect him to go out and pitch like that,’" manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I wouldn’t say that unless it was the case. It is the case. He’s doing his job and then some right now.”

Ryan struck out the first four Chicago hitters and did not allow a hit until Vargas went deep for his first White Sox home run, a two-run shot in the third. Vargas was acquired from the Dodgers on Monday as part of a three-team trade that included St. Louis.

Making his first start since Oct. 5, 2022, Davis Martin (0-1) allowed four earned runs on six hits and struck out five in 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery in May 2023, and made his season debut with 2 2/3 innings of relief last Saturday.

He was one strike away from getting out of the first inning, but a 3-2 slider to Lewis landed halfway up the left-field seats for a 2-0 Twins lead.

“When you leave something over the middle of the plate he hits it. We wanted to try and do some stuff, but just didn’t execute very well and he capitalized on them,” Martin said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: RHP Drew Thorpe was placed on the 15-day Injured List, retroactive to Thursday, because of a right flexor strain. RHP Prelander Berroa was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.

Twins: RF Max Kepler did not play two days after striking out but getting hit in the helmet by Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez’s attempted throw to second base. Baldelli said Kepler passed all concussion-protocol tests but needs to go through a full workout.

UP NEXT

LHP Garrett Crochet (6-8, 3.23) was scheduled to start for Chicago on Saturday night against RHP Bailey Ober (10-5, 3.76).

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Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Steven Wilson reacts after giving up a home run to Minnesota Twins' Willi Castro during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins' Willi Castro runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton celebrates after his two-run home run as he runs the bases during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton, right, rounds third base on a double hit by designated hitter Royce Lewis during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. Buxton scored on the play. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins designated hitter Royce Lewis celebrates after his two-run home run as he runs the bases during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Davis Martin winds up to deliver against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Chicago White Sox's Miguel Vargas celebrates after his two-run home run with third base coach Eddie Rodriguez as he runs the bases during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins designated hitter Royce Lewis runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.

A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 a.m. Saturday, the military said.

The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.

The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.

The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides’ attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine U.N. mediation efforts.

In the Gaza Strip on Saturday, mourners held the funerals of 19 people — 12 of them children — killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and overnight.

One of the strikes hit a residential building in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, and injuring 16 others, health officials said.

In Gaza City, another strike on a house overnight killed 12 people, including seven children and two women, according to Al-Ahli Hospital where the bodies were taken.

Mourners gathered at the hospital in Gaza City Saturday morning. Women comforted each other as they wept over the bodies before they were carried away. One man, stony-faced, cradled a tiny shroud-wrapped body in his arms as he carried it along the funeral procession.

In Al-Aqsa Hospital of Deir al Balah, white body bags containing those killed in Nuseirat were taken from the morgue and loaded onto the back of an open truck to be taken for burial.

Overall, Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday that 21 people had been killed and 61 were wounded over the past 24 hours.

Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian casualties in Gaza and questions about whether it has done enough to prevent them.

Israel says it only strikes militants, and blames the Hamas militant group for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.

More than 45,200 people have been killed and more than 107,500 wounded in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, when a Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered the devastating 14-month war in Gaza. Local health officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but have said more than half of the fatalities are women and children.

The Israeli military organization dealing with humanitarian affairs for Gaza said Saturday it had led a “tactical coordinated operation” delivering thousands of food packages, flour and water to the Beit Hanoun area in the north of the Gaza Strip.

The organization, known by its acronym COGAT, said trucks from the U.N. World Food Program transported 2,000 food packages, 1,680 sacks of flour and thousands of liters of water to distribution centers in the area on Friday.

Aid groups have said previously that military operations and armed gangs have hindered their ability to distribute aid to civilians in need.

Gaza's Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal Saturday for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, while the hospital director described dire conditions.

The ministry said in a statement that there was continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital. “Shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic,” the ministry said.

Hospital Director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh said the facility was “facing severe shortages."

“Despite promises, we have not received the necessary supplies to maintain electricity, water, and oxygen systems," Abu Safiyeh said. "Our requests for essential medical supplies and staff have largely gone unmet.”

He said the World Health Organization had delivered 70 units of blood, but that the hospital requires at least 200 units to meet urgent needs. He said 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.

The shortages extend beyond medical necessities. “Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded. We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us,” he said. “The staff is working around the clock, yet we cannot even provide meals for them.”

Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Men pray over the bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp during a funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital before their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Israeli soldier observes the site where the missile launched from Yemen landed Jaffa district, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)