Minnesota Twins take over American League Central
The Minnesota Twins moved into first place in the American League Central division by defeating the Chicago White Sox 12-6 in Tuesday night action. It was the first of a three-game series between the teams at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Twins have won three games in a row including five or their last six. They now lead the division by one game over the White Sox.
Right fielder Michael Cuddyer drove in four runs for the Twins and finished 2-for-5 at the plate, which included a two-run homer.
Catcher Joe Mauer also hit a two-run homer and had three RBI and finished the night with three hits.
The rash of two-run homers did not end there, as Jason Kubel also sent one over the fence with a runner on base and finished the game with four runs. Shortstop J.J. Hardy and Jim Thome also contributed with solo homers for the Twins, who scored runs in each of the first four innings.
Pitcher Scott Baker improved his record to 10-9 in just over six innings of work allowing eight hits and four earned runs.
The White Sox meanwhile have now lost three games in a row and have dropped four of their last five to slip out of first place.
Pitcher Freddy Garcia saw his record fall to 10-5 after lasting just 2 1/3 innings and giving up eight hits and six runs.
Carlos Quentin had four RBI for the White Sox including a three-run homer. Alexei Ramirez and Paul Konerko each had an RBI and two hits in the loss.
The Twins grabbed the early lead in the first inning after Mauer’s RBI double. The Twins then exploded for four runs in the second inning to build a 5-0 lead after getting two solo homers from Thome and Hardy, followed by a two-run homer by Mauer.
The White Sox climbed back into it in the home half of the second inning on Quentin’s three-run-shot to make it 5-3. In the third inning however, a sacrifice fly Danny Valencia put the Twins up 6-3.
The visitors then bolstered their lead to 8-3 in the fourth inning after Cuddyer’s two-run double. Cuddyer then added his two-run shot in the sixth inning to put the Twins up 10-3.
The White Sox cut the lead to 10-5 after the home half of the sixth but the Twins responded in the eighth inning after a two run blast from Kubel to make it 12-5.
Quentin then added a run for the White Sox in the ninth to complete the scoring.
The Twins have now won seven of the last 10 meetings against the White Sox including three of four at U.S. Cellular Field.
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