The Twins got off to a slow start on Monday night in Chicago. Despite having baserunners in scoring position in the 3rd and 4th innings, Javier Vasquez managed to hold the Twins scoreless through five innings. In the meantime Brad Radke had given up a homerun in each of the 4th and 5th innings. However, they were both solo homers, so the damage was minimal. The Twins matched the White Sox in power on Monday night; the difference was the Twins had more baserunners on when the balls left the park.

Michael Cuddyer tied the game in the sixth when he homered with Nick Punto on first. Justin Morneau followed up with a solo homer to put the Twins in the lead. With guys like Paul Konerko and Jim Thome in the opposing lineup, the Twins knew that a 1 run lead isn’t enough. They came back in the seventh inning with another scoring rally.

Jason Tyner led off with a single and Jason Bartlett hit one of his two doubles on the night to position runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Juan Uribe made a nice play on a Luis Castillo line drive for the first out of the inning. Nick Punto came to the plate and hit a grounball to Uribe. The play came home and Tyner was called out and what was clearly a missed call. The throw was to Pierzynski’s right which allowed Tyner’s foot to get the plate before Pierzynski could bring his glove around. The Twins’ misfortune set up an opportunity for the Sox to get out of the inning unscathed. Joe Mauer would have none of it though. He drove a ball over the fence in center field to give the Twins a 4-run lead.

Kyle Lohse gave up a 2-run homer in the 9th, but by that time the lead was cushioned enough. The win brought the Twins within 2 games of the White Sox in the wildcard race.

Game Notes

• Tyner and Bartlett, batting 8 and 9, each had 3 hits in the game. Don’t underestimate how valuable Bartlett’s addition has been to this team’s resurgence.
• Jesse Crain pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 7 innings pitched. Despite getting off to a slow start he has been stellar in June and July.
• Morneau hit his 26th homer of the season.
• Nick Punto extended his hit streak to 16 games and scored 2 runs in the game.
• Brad Radke pitched a solid 6 innings. He improved to 9-7, matching his win total from 2005.

Santana vs. Contreras

Two of baseball’s best pitchers will face off in the middle game of the series. With Silva pitching on Wednesday, this is going to be an important game if the Twins want to take the series. Santana always seems to pitch well against Chicago. In the past two seasons he’s never allowed more than 2 runs in a game against them. Contreras has also had pretty good success against the Twins. It should be a great matchup to watch.