The Twins lost their second straight game to the White Sox as they attempted to move ahead of the Tigers in the AL Central. Fortunately, the Tigers have also lost the first two games of their series with the Royals so the two remain in a tie. The Twins will get their last chance on Sunday and they'll need more help from the Royals. Saturday's game was an early one and the Twins didn't seem to wake up until about 1:30 when they finally scored a few runs on Michael Cuddyer's 9th inning homerun. By then it was too late.

Matt Garza struggled through 2 2/3 innings. He managed to work out of jams in the first and second innings, but the White Sox finally did some damage in the 3rd. Garza was charged with 8 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs before leaving. Matt Guerrier gave up 2 runs in 4 1/3 innings of work and Willie Eyre finished the game with 2 scoreless innings.

Game Notes

• Joe Mauer had the day off. Derek Jeter was 3-3 for the Yankees and cut Mauer's lead for the AL batting title. With 1 game remaining Mauer is batting .346 and Jeter is batting .345.
• Justin Morneau was 2-4 with two weakly hit singles.
• Jason Kubel got his first start in a long time. He was 0-3 as the DH.

It was good to see the Twins avoid the shutout against Garland, but it'd be even more encouraging to see them end the season in good fashion with a win on Sunday. I'll be at the game to provide some encouragment.

I still haven't heard who's officially going to start on Sunday. Scott Baker is scheduled to make the start, but there has been talk all week that Gardenhire would go with Silva if the division was on the line, which it is.