Twins 1, White Sox 7 Twins 1 at White Sox 7 April 21st, 2006 at 11:31 pm
This game was a lot closer than the final score indicated. As predicted, the Mark Buehrle and Johan Santana matchup turned out to be a pitchers duel–until the 8th inning.
Santana pitched five scoreless innings before giving up a 2-run homer to Twins-killer, Jim Thome. Santana ended up throwing 120 pitches through 7 innings, while giving up 2 runs. Buehrle remained virtually flawless until the 8th inning when Lew Ford hit a solo homerun.
The game fell apart for the Twins in the 8th inning when Juan Rincon relieved Santana. Rincon faced 4 batters and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits. Matt Guerrier was quickly warmed up in the bullpen and was able to finish the inning despite giving up 2 hits and 1 more run. The game that had been close for 7 1/2 innings quickly fell out of reach for the Twins.
After stumbling out of the gate, the White Sox look like a well-oiled machine right now. They’ve won 6 straight (3 of which were against the Royals) and have won 10 of their last 11. They’re getting great pitching almost every night and Thome is providing an abundance of offense.
Game Notes
- Shannon Stewart was away from the team tonight, being with his wife while she gave birth. Too bad he couldn’t have scheduled it for next weekend instead, or better yet the offseason. Rondell White played left field for the first time this season.
- Luis Castillo didn’t play because of his sore knee that he left Thursday’s game with. He’s expected to miss the entire series and possibly come back for the Series in Detroit next week. Nick Punto started at second and also batted 2nd, which is never a good thing.
- With Beuhrle pitching, Justin Morneau had his first offday of the season. Michael Cuddyer started at 1st, since the Twins don’t really have a clear backup at the position.
- Ruben Sierra was in the DH role tonight and went 1-for-4.
In the Division
- Cleveland held off a 9th inning rally to edge out a 6-5 victory over the struggling Royals.
- Starter Mike Maroth led the Tigers to a 2-0 win over Seattle.
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