Joe Nathan and the rest of the Twins bullpen picked an opportune time to right their wrongs, facing the Chicago White Sox in late September with the AL Central still in question.
Nick Blackburn only lasted five innings before turning it over to a cadre of relievers, but Minnesota hung tough in a 3-2 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday night that pulled the Twins within a half-game of first place.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better than that,” Blackburn said. “They came in, did their job and got those guys out. No drama. It was great.”
Blackburn (11-10) gave up eight hits and two walks, but he was tough enough when it counted to hold the lead. Craig Breslow, Boof Bonser and Jose Mijares followed, and Nathan handled the ninth for his 39th save of the season and 200th of his career.
“I think I had the toughest inning out of us all,” said Nathan, who watched Carlos Gomez track down A.J. Pierzynski’s drive to left-center with a nice running catch. “It was nice to finish one out. We know we’ve had some tough stretches.”
n title to one. It was Boston 5, Cleveland 4; the Los Angeles Angels 6, Seattle 5; the New York Yankees 6, Toronto 2 in 10 innings; Kansas City 10, Detroit 4; and Texas 14, Oakland 4.
Minnesota improved to 7-1 against the White Sox at the Metrodome this year, but the margin between the teams has been no bigger than 2 1/2 games since July 27. They play again Thursday night before the Twins wrap up their season against the Royals and the White Sox play the Indians.
“They’re tough customers,” Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said of the Twins. “No doubt about that. We got to play hard to beat them.”
Making up for Javier Vazquez’s flop in a 9-3 loss the night before, Mark Buehrle (14-12) gave the Sox the big game performance they needed after he fell behind 3-1 in the second inning. He didn’t have much help, though, beyond a homer and two RBIs by Ken Griffey Jr.
After hitting three homers on Tuesday, the Twins went back to what they’re used to doing – getting the ball on the ground and racing around the bases.
“They’re a pain,” Buehrle said.
League batting leader Joe Mauer rolled over on one in each of the first two innings, but he was fast enough to beat the relay throws and keep those bouncers to second from turning into double plays. Denard Span drove in a run with single, too, and Gomez kept the rally alive with a perfectly placed bunt down the first base line.
ly got a little too aggressive at times, but I told our guys to play,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Play the game and have some fun.”
Rays 11, Orioles 6
At Baltimore, the Rays rallied from a big deficit to beat the Orioles and reduce their magic number for clinching their first division title to one.
The Rays, who trailed 5-0 in the first inning, didn’t clinch the AL East because Boston beat Cleveland to remain three games back. The Rays open a four-game series in Detroit on Thursday.
Edwin Jackson (13-11) got the win despite giving up six runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings. Trever Miller pitched 2 1-3 innings of one-hit relief to earn his second save.
Red Sox 5, Indians 4
Red Sox pinch-hitter Jeff Bailey tripled and scored on Mark Kotsay’s double to break an eighth-inning tie at Fenway Park, and Manny Delcarmen pitched the ninth for his second save.
David Aardsma (4-2) earned the victory with 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and striking out one. Rafael Perez (4-4) gave up a run on two hits and an intentional walk in one inning.
Angels 6, Mariners 5
At Seattle, Mark Teixeira’s homer with two outs in the eighth inning finished the comeback, and Los Angeles moved closer to securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
a ripped a 2-0 pitch from Mark Lowe (1-5) deep into the seats in right.
Darren Oliver (7-1) pitched two hitless innings for the victory, and Francisco Rodriguez worked the ninth to extend his major league saves record to 62 in a record 69 opportunities.
Yankees 6, Blue Jays 2, 10 innings
Bobby Abreu hit a grand slam in the 10th inning, his 20th home run of the season, and visiting New York won its seventh straight game.
Left-hander Jesse Carlson (7-2) had not allowed a run in 14 innings before Abreu’s hit. Jose Veras (5-2) worked one inning for the win.
Royals 10, Tigers 4
At Detroit, Mitch Maier hit a bases-loaded triple in the Royals’ seven-run fifth inning, helping them finish off a three-game sweep of Detroit.
Brian Bannister (9-16) pitched six shutout innings for the Royals, who have won 11 of their last 13. Detroit, meanwhile, lost for the 12th time in 13 games.
Rangers 14, Athletics 4
At Arlington, Texas, Hank Blalock homered in his fourth straight game and Matt Harrison became the first Rangers rookie left-hander to win nine games.
Harrison (9-3) struck out seven over six innings. The only AL starters with more victories than Harrison since he made his major league debut July 8 are Cleveland’s Cliff Lee (11) and Toronto’s A.J. Burnett (10).
Add A Comment