Ervin Santana keeps Minnesota Twins hot streak going

CHICAGO -- Right-hander Ervin Santana pitched six innings of two-hit ball before yielding to a shaky but resilient bullpen, and the Minnesota Twins defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.

Jorge Polanco finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run as Minnesota (5-1) continued a hot start and won the rubber game of the series. Miguel Sano added a two-run home run as part of a two-hit day.

Chicago (2-3) threatened immediately after Santana left the game with a 2-0 lead, but was unable to score after Avisail Garcia and Yolmer Sanchez hit consecutive one-out singles in the seventh. In the eighth, the White Sox scored just once after loading the bases with one out. Minnesota's Brandon Kintzler recorded the final four outs to earn his third save.

Santana (2-0) walked two and struck out four on 87 pitches while lowering his season ERA to 0.69. He allowed only a single to Cody Asche in the second inning and a single to Jose Abreu in the sixth.

White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana (0-2) limited the Twins to two earned runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings.

After a breezy, seven-pitch first inning, Quintana struggled with his efficiency in spots. He retired eight Twins in a row before surrendering a home run to Polanco. He walked one and struck out seven.

Homers, hugs and hair. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/ytAEuLxUtn

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 9, 2017

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Joe Mauer smacked a line-drive single to center field with two outs. The hit scored Robbie Grossman, who reached on a ground-rule double one batter earlier before advancing to third base on a passed ball during Mauer's at-bat. Grossman added two hits for the Twins.

Polanco increased Minnesota's lead to 2-0 with an opposite-field, solo home run to left leading off the seventh inning. Sano drove a two-run homer to center in the eighth. Both long balls came with two strikes.

The White Sox scored their lone run on Garcia's run-scoring hit-by-pitch in the eighth. It came with Kintzler on the mound, and marked the first time Minnesota allowed an inherited runner to score this season.

NOTES: The Twins have won seven of their past 11 games against the White Sox. ... White Sox 2B Yolmer Sanchez made his first start of the season Sunday after pinch-running Saturday in his season debut. Sanchez made 33 appearances, including 31 starts, with the White Sox in 2016, splitting time with Triple-A Charlotte. ... White Sox LF Melky Cabrera batted leadoff for the first time this season. Cabrera hit third in Chicago's first four games, but moved up in the order when regular leadoff man Tyler Saladino got the day off.