MINNEAPOLIS — Before Lance Lynn got pounded by the Twins for four home runs Friday night, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol touted the veteran right-hander’s ability to adapt at this point in his career.

Lynn had a 16-strikeout game against the Mariners in June, two 10-strikeout efforts in April and an 11-strikeout game in which he pitched seven scoreless innings and received a no-decision against the Blue Jays in his last starter before the All-Star break.

But Lynn also has allowed 28 homers, the most in the major leagues, and with five runs allowed in the first inning of a 9-4 loss, his ERA in the first inning ballooned to 10.80. Alex Kirilloff and Byron Buxton hit the seventh and eighth homers Lynn has given up in the first, and Buxton homered again against Lynn in the fourth. So did Ryan Jeffers.

And with that, the Sox fell to 41-58 and 10 games behind the first place Twins (51-48) in the AL Central. The 17 games below the .500 mark tied the low water point for the Sox, who are waiting around to see who will get dealt away before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Thought to be potential target for a contending team because of his career numbers and flashes of excellence, Lynn (6-9, 6.18 ERA), who was traded from the Twins to the Yankees before the 2018 deadline, did nothing to enhance his value three says after Lucas Giolito did the same laying an eight-run double egg against the Mets Tuesday.

Whether he was speaking from a place of respect for Lynn, 36, a former All-Star in the second year of a two-year, $38 million deal with a club option for next season or sprucing up a sales pitch for a prospective buyer, Grifol genuinely admires what Lynn has done in his career, even lately.

“I have an appreciation for any pitcher that’s been in the game that long and adapts on a year to year basis,” Grifol said. “A lot of pitchers that their careers have ended just because of the lack of adaptability. They think they are going start off their career one way and end their career the same way and they’re going to choose when they end up when it’s all over. It doesn’t work out that way.

“His ability to adapt. His eagerness to adapt. He started off as a fastball-cutter-changeup guy and now he’s got a fastball, changeup, cutter, sweeper, slider that he mixes. He knows how to pitch. Have an appreciation for that, guys that continue to adapt to the game and just continue to pitch at a high level after 12 years, 13 years.”

In typical Lynn fashion, he stayed the course through this big-numbered start, putting up zeroes in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings. And Lynn should have had a zero in the seventh, too, but didn’t because right fielder Zach Remillard muffed Carlos Correa’s fly ball with two outs for a two-base error.

Lynn then walked Edouard Julien before Kirriloff doubled off the run to score two runs. And that was it for Lynn at 100 pitches, who posted this line: 6 ²⁄₃ innings, nine runs (six earned), eight hits, three walks, six strikeouts.

It wasn’t the first time Lynn got a raw deal from his fielders. Second baseman Elvis Andrus misplayed two balls in the first that, if played well, could have limited the damage to one run instead of five.

Andrew Benintendi hit Joe Ryan’s first pitch of the game for his second home run, and Yasmani Grandal homered for the eighth time and his second time in four games in the sixth, a two-run shot against Ryan to get the Sox within 7-4.