CHICAGO (AP) — Martín Pérez threw six hitless innings in a sparkling debut as Chicago beat Minnesota.

Sox cruise to victory

What we know:

Andrew Vaughn and Andrew Benintendi hit three-run homers in the first and second innings. Michael A. Taylor made it 9-0 with a two-run drive in the third against Twins starter Chris Paddock (0-1), sending the White Sox to an easy win after they lost two of three in their season-opening series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Twins’ only hits were singles by Willi Castro in the seventh against Mike Vasil and Ryan Jeffers in the eighth. They fell to 0-4 following a sweep at St. Louis, their worst start since the 2016 team dropped its first nine games.

By the numbers:

Pérez (1-0) threw 93 pitches while tying a career high with nine strikeouts and walking three. The left-hander retired the first 11 batters before walking Jeffers.

Pérez, who turns 34 on Friday, was an All-Star with Texas in 2022 and helped the Rangers win the World Series the following year. He pitched for Pittsburgh and San Diego last season before signing a $5 million, one-year contract with Chicago in January.

Vasil retired the first two batters in the seventh before Castro singled.

Paddack got tagged for nine runs in 3 1/3 innings.