The Minnesota Twins opened a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, May 25, 2026, scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET in Chicago; the Twins were chasing a fifth straight win. Zebby Matthews will make the start for Minnesota, a small-sample lefty who is 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings.
The recent numbers make this one feel like more than an early-week meeting. Minnesota had won six of its last seven games and 10 of 14, arriving at 26-27 overall and 11-13 on the road while sitting third in the division, a half-game behind Chicago. The Twins were listed as minus-114 favorites for the opener after completing a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, capped by a 6-5 finale in which Brooks Lee broke a tie with a two-run single in a three-run inning and Bailey Ober improved to 6-2 after five innings in that start, allowing four runs on seven hits.
Chicago, meanwhile, came in at 26-26 with a 14-10 home record and the luxury of hosting the series. The White Sox had dropped an 8-5 decision to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday; Chase Meidroth hit a solo home run in that loss. Chicago scheduled Anthony Kay to start the opener — Kay is 3-1 with a 4.27 ERA in 46.1 innings and has registered five-plus strikeouts in three of his last four starts. Over the previous 30 days the White Sox offense ranked third in wRC+ at 108, while Minnesota's offense sat 12th in that same measure.
Context tightens the stakes. This was the first meeting of the season between the AL Central rivals, and both teams trailed the Cleveland Guardians in the division standings. A four-game set between these clubs can tilt the middle of the division in either direction because the records are so close and both clubs are still sorting their identities three months into the season.
The friction in Chicago on Monday was obvious: Minnesota arrives on a hot streak and is the betting favorite despite a worse overall record, while the White Sox own the better home numbers and a recently potent offense. That creates a simple mismatch on paper — a Twins team riding momentum and a starter with a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings against a White Sox club that has a swing-heavy lineup and a starter who strikes out more but carries a mid-4.00 ERA. Which advantage matters more — recent form and a low ERA in a small sample, or the White Sox’s stronger home profile and higher recent run creation?
The single most consequential question coming out of this opener is whether Matthews can deliver a quality start that turns Minnesota’s surge into positional leverage in the AL Central, or whether Kay and the White Sox will blunt that momentum and seize the early edge in the four-game series. How Monday unfolds will set the tone: a Twins victory would push them above Chicago and validate their favorite tag; a White Sox win would underscore the club’s home strength and leave Minnesota needing to prove its recent run was more than a streak.
