GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CHI WHITE SOX (24-21) at MINNESOTA (24-25)

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: T Hall hit for A Pierzynski.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CHI WHITE SOX 4
MINNESOTA 10 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: T Hall (.286, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: A Gonzalez hit for J Crede.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CHI WHITE SOX 4
MINNESOTA 10 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: A Gonzalez (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHI WHITE SOX 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 4 7 2
MINNESOTA 0 3 0 0 0 5 0 2 x 10 16 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS, BOONE LOGAN (6TH), DAVID AARDSMA (6TH), DEWON
DAY (8TH) AND A.J. PIERZYNSKI

MIN - JOHAN SANTANA, JASON MILLER (9TH) AND MIKE
REDMOND

HOME RUNS: CHA - LUIS TERRERO (3) OFF JOHAN SANTANA IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
PAUL KONERKO (7) OFF JOHAN SANTANA IN THE 4TH, 0 ON

MIN - NONE</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHI WHITE SOX 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 4 7 2
MINNESOTA 0 3 0 0 0 5 0 2 x 10 16 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS, BOONE LOGAN (6TH), DAVID AARDSMA (6TH), DEWON
DAY (8TH) AND A.J. PIERZYNSKI

MIN - JOHAN SANTANA, JASON MILLER (9TH) AND MIKE
REDMOND


WP - JOHAN SANTANA (6-4)
LP - JOSE CONTRERAS (4-5)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CHA - LUIS TERRERO (3) OFF JOHAN SANTANA IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
PAUL KONERKO (7) OFF JOHAN SANTANA IN THE 4TH, 0 ON

MIN - NONE


TIME: 2:59 ATT: 27,090

PROBABLES: CHA - JOHN DANKS (3-4, 3.78)
MIN - BOOF BONSER (3-1, 3.88)</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">CHI WHITE SOX (4) VS MINNESOTA (10) - FINAL

CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Erstad cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .275
T Iguchi 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .220
J Thome dh 3 1 0 0 1 2 1 .310
J Dye rf 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 .240
P Konerko 1b 4 1 2 3 0 1 2 .225
A Pierzynski c 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .255
a-T Hall ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
J Crede 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .229
b-A Gonzalez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Uribe ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206
L Terrero lf 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 .286

Totals 33 4 7 4 1 7 6

a-lined out to left for A Pierzynski in the 9th; b-flied out to right for J
Crede in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - J Dye (9, J Santana). HR - L Terrero (3, 3rd inning off J Santana
0 on, 0 Out), P Konerko (7, 4th inning off J Santana 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - L
Terrero (5), P Konerko 3 (25). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - P
Konerko 1. GIDP - A Pierzynski. Team LOB - 3.

FIELDING: E - J Contreras (2, throw); A Pierzynski (2, throw). DP: 1 (T
Iguchi-J Uribe-P Konerko).


MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 2 1 1 0 2 0 1 .327
a-L Rodriguez ph-2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .190
N Punto 3b 4 1 3 2 1 0 1 .242
M Cuddyer rf 3 1 1 1 2 1 3 .287
J Morneau 1b 5 1 0 0 0 1 8 .284
T Hunter cf 5 2 3 1 0 2 2 .317
M Redmond c 4 1 2 3 0 0 0 .320
J Kubel lf 5 0 2 1 0 2 2 .243
J Bartlett ss 4 2 1 0 0 0 2 .239
J Tyner dh 4 1 3 1 1 0 0 .276

Totals 37 10 16 9 6 6 21

a-grounded to shortstop for L Castillo in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Kubel 2 (12, J Contreras, D Day); M Redmond (9, D Aardsma). S -
L Castillo. RBI - J Tyner (11), N Punto 2 (10), M Cuddyer (37), T Hunter (42),
M Redmond 3 (15), J Kubel (15). 2-out RBI - J Tyner, N Punto, M Cuddyer, T
Hunter, M Redmond 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Cuddyer 1, J
Morneau 3, T Hunter 1, J Kubel 1, J Bartlett 1. GIDP - L Rodriguez. Team LOB -
12.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Bartlett (6, 2nd base off J Contreras/A Pierzynski), N
Punto 2 (8, 2nd base off J Contreras/A Pierzynski 2), T Hunter (9, 3rd base off
D Day/A Pierzynski). CS - T Hunter (4, 2nd base by J Contreras).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Bartlett-L Castillo-J Morneau).


----------------------------------------------------
CHI WHITE SOX - 001 102 000 -- 4
MINNESOTA - 030 005 02x -- 10
----------------------------------------------------

CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Contreras (L, 4-5) 5 1/3 10 7 7 3 4 0 4.45
B Logan 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.05
D Aardsma 1 1/3 2 1 1 3 2 0 4.72
D Day 1 4 2 2 0 0 0 18.00

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
J Santana (W, 6-4) 8 7 4 4 1 7 2 3.21
J Miller 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

HBP - J Bartlett (by J Contreras); M Redmond (by J Contreras).
Pitches-strikes: J Contreras 114-73; B Logan 3-1; D Aardsma 42-24; D Day 20-15;
J Santana 106-75; J Miller 9-6. Ground balls-fly balls: J Contreras 7-4; B
Logan 1-0; D Aardsma 1-1; D Day 2-1; J Santana 9-8; J Miller 0-3. Batters
faced: J Contreras 30; B Logan 1; D Aardsma 9; D Day 6; J Santana 31; J Miller
3.

UMPIRES: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Greg Gibson. 2B--Tony Randazzo. 3B--Charlie
Reliford.

T--2:59. Att--27,090.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
CHI WHITE SOX 4
MINNESOTA 10 FINAL</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHI WHITE SOX (4) AT MINNESOTA (10) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MINNESOTA 2ND: M Redmond grounded out to third. J Kubel struck out
looking. J Bartlett hit by pitch. J Bartlett stole second. J Tyner singled
to center, J Bartlett scored. J Tyner safe at third on throwing error by
pitcher J Contreras. L Castillo walked. N Punto singled to right, J Tyner
scored, L Castillo to second. M Cuddyer singled to right, L Castillo scored,
N Punto to third. J Morneau popped out to second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error)
CHI WHITE SOX 0, MINNESOTA 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 3RD: L Terrero homered to left. D Erstad grounded out to
shortstop. T Iguchi flied out to center. J Thome struck out swinging. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 1, MINNESOTA 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 4TH: J Dye struck out swinging. P Konerko homered to left
center. A Pierzynski grounded out to second. J Crede grounded out to third.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, MINNESOTA 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 6TH: T Iguchi struck out swinging. J Thome walked. J Dye
doubled to deep right center, J Thome to third. P Konerko singled to left
center, J Thome and J Dye scored. A Pierzynski grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, P Konerko out at second.(2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 6TH: J Bartlett singled to left. J Tyner singled to center,
J Bartlett to second. L Castillo sacrificed to third, J Bartlett to third,
J Tyner to second. N Punto reached on infield single to first, J Bartlett
scored, J Tyner to third. N Punto stole second. M Cuddyer walked. B Logan
relieved J Contreras. J Morneau grounded into fielder's choice to first,
J Tyner out at home, N Punto to third, M Cuddyer to second. D Aardsma relieved
B Logan. T Hunter reached on infield single to shortstop, N Punto scored,
M Cuddyer to third, J Morneau to second. M Redmond doubled to deep center,
M Cuddyer, J Morneau and T Hunter scored. J Kubel struck out swinging.
(5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 8.

MINNESOTA 8TH: D Day relieved D Aardsma. T Hunter singled to center.
M Redmond reached on infield single to second, T Hunter to second. T Hunter
stole third, T Hunter scored, M Redmond safe at second on throwing error by
catcher A Pierzynski. J Kubel doubled to deep right, M Redmond scored.
J Bartlett fouled out to first. J Tyner reached on infield single to second,
J Kubel to third. L Rodriguez hit for L Castillo. L Rodriguez grounded into
double play, second to shortstop to first, J Tyner out at second. (2 Runs,
4 Hits, 1 Error) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 10.</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHI WHITE SOX (4) AT MINNESOTA (10) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chi White Sox Starting Lineups -- D Erstad CF, T Iguchi 2B, J Thome DH,
J Dye RF, P Konerko 1B, A Pierzynski C, J Crede 3B, J Uribe SS, L Terrero LF,
J Contreras RHP.

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- L Castillo 2B, N Punto 3B, M Cuddyer RF,
J Morneau 1B, T Hunter CF, M Redmond C, J Kubel LF, J Bartlett SS, J Tyner DH,
J Santana LHP.

Umpires -- Larry Vanover (HP), Greg Gibson (1B), Tony Randazzo (2B),
Charlie Reliford (3B).

Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


CHI WHITE SOX 1ST: D Erstad singled to center. T Iguchi flied out to
right. J Thome struck out swinging. J Dye singled to left, D Erstad to
second. P Konerko struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHI WHITE SOX 0, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 1ST: L Castillo reached on infield single to shortstop. N Punto
reached on bunt single to third, L Castillo to second. M Cuddyer struck out
swinging. J Morneau popped out to third. T Hunter struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 0, MINNESOTA 0.

CHI WHITE SOX 2ND: A Pierzynski grounded out to third. J Crede struck
out swinging. J Uribe flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHI WHITE SOX 0, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 2ND: M Redmond grounded out to third. J Kubel struck out
looking. J Bartlett hit by pitch. J Bartlett stole second. J Tyner singled
to center, J Bartlett scored. J Tyner safe at third on throwing error by
pitcher J Contreras. L Castillo walked. N Punto singled to right, J Tyner
scored, L Castillo to second. M Cuddyer singled to right, L Castillo scored,
N Punto to third. J Morneau popped out to second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error)
CHI WHITE SOX 0, MINNESOTA 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 3RD: L Terrero homered to left. D Erstad grounded out to
shortstop. T Iguchi flied out to center. J Thome struck out swinging. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 1, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 3RD: T Hunter struck out swinging. M Redmond grounded out to
third. J Kubel doubled to deep right center. J Bartlett grounded out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 1, MINNESOTA 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 4TH: J Dye struck out swinging. P Konerko homered to left
center. A Pierzynski grounded out to second. J Crede grounded out to third.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Tyner walked. L Castillo grounded into fielder's choice
to second, J Tyner out at second. N Punto grounded into fielder's choice to
first, L Castillo out at second. N Punto stole second. M Cuddyer flied out to
center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, MINNESOTA 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 5TH: J Uribe flied out to center. L Terrero grounded out
to third. D Erstad grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHI WHITE SOX 2, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 5TH: J Morneau flied out to center. T Hunter singled to right
center. T Hunter caught stealing second, pitcher to shortstop. M Redmond
hit by pitch. J Kubel grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CHI WHITE SOX 2, MINNESOTA 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 6TH: T Iguchi struck out swinging. J Thome walked. J Dye
doubled to deep right center, J Thome to third. P Konerko singled to left
center, J Thome and J Dye scored. A Pierzynski grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, P Konerko out at second.(2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 6TH: J Bartlett singled to left. J Tyner singled to center,
J Bartlett to second. L Castillo sacrificed to third, J Bartlett to third,
J Tyner to second. N Punto reached on infield single to first, J Bartlett
scored, J Tyner to third. N Punto stole second. M Cuddyer walked. B Logan
relieved J Contreras. J Morneau grounded into fielder's choice to first,
J Tyner out at home, N Punto to third, M Cuddyer to second. D Aardsma relieved
B Logan. T Hunter reached on infield single to shortstop, N Punto scored,
M Cuddyer to third, J Morneau to second. M Redmond doubled to deep center,
M Cuddyer, J Morneau and T Hunter scored. J Kubel struck out swinging.
(5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 8.

CHI WHITE SOX 7TH: J Crede flied out to right. J Uribe flied out to left.
L Terrero singled to center. D Erstad struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 8.

MINNESOTA 7TH: J Bartlett flied out to center. J Tyner grounded out to
shortstop. L Castillo walked. N Punto walked, L Castillo to second.
M Cuddyer walked, L Castillo to third, N Punto to second. J Morneau struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 8.

CHI WHITE SOX 8TH: T Iguchi grounded out to shortstop. J Thome flied
out to center. J Dye flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 8.

MINNESOTA 8TH: D Day relieved D Aardsma. T Hunter singled to center.
M Redmond reached on infield single to second, T Hunter to second. T Hunter
stole third, T Hunter scored, M Redmond safe at second on throwing error by
catcher A Pierzynski. J Kubel doubled to deep right, M Redmond scored.
J Bartlett fouled out to first. J Tyner reached on infield single to second,
J Kubel to third. L Rodriguez hit for L Castillo. L Rodriguez grounded into
double play, second to shortstop to first, J Tyner out at second. (2 Runs,
4 Hits, 1 Error) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 10.

CHI WHITE SOX 9TH: L Rodriguez at second base. J Miller relieved J Santana.
P Konerko flied out to center. T Hall hit for A Pierzynski. T Hall lined out
to left. A Gonzalez hit for J Crede. A Gonzalez flied out to right. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 4, MINNESOTA 10.</div>

 

Twins feed off Gardenhire's fire to topple White Sox

<h3>MINNESOTA 10, CHI WHITE SOX 4</h3>MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- It did not take the Minnesota Twinslong to break out following the firey display of their manager.

Mark Redmond capped a five-run sixth inning with a three-rundouble as the Twins rallied for a 10-4 victory over the ChicagoWhite Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Monday.

Prior to the offensive outburst by Minnesota, manager RonGardenhire had a heated discussion with the umpire crew,supposedly complaining about how A.J. Pierzynski landed on firstbase after hitting into an inning-ending double play in the tophalf of the sixth.

Gardenhire argued that Pierzynski had tried to injury JustinMorneau by landing closely to the first baseman's foot on theinside of the bag.

After a moment of silence to honor the country's servicemen, theTwins mirrored their skipper's intensity by grabbing the leadand knocking White Sox starter Jose Contreras (4-5) out of thegame.

Trailing 4-3 after Paul Konerko delivered a two-run single inthe top half of the sixth, Minnesota got its decisive rallygoing as Jason Bartlett and Jason Tyner both singled.

Luis Castillo advanced both runners with a sacrifice and NickPunto plated the tying run when he outraced Contreras during aplay at first base. After Punto stole second, Michael Cuddyerwalked before Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen pulled his starterin favor of Boone Logan.

The 22-year-old Logan did his job, getting reigning AmericanLeague MVP Morneau to hit a grounder to the first basemanKonerko, enabling the White Sox to go home for the second out ofthe inning.

However, Torii Hunter followed with a high chopping grounder offDavid Aardsma that bounced off home plate, enabling Punto toscore the go-ahead run on the infield single. Redmond, who hasfilled in admirably for injured All-Star catcher Joe Mauer,ripping a line drive into left-center field that cleared thebases for an 8-4 advantage.

That lead was more than enough for Johan Santana (6-4), whothrew eight innings for his longest outing the season. The CyYoung Award-winning lefthander allowed four runs and seven hitsand struck out seven for his second straight win.

Santana looked human early on, giving up a homer to Luis Terreroin the third and Konerko in the fourth.

Hunter saved Santana from giving up another blast in the eighth,making a jumping catch at the center field wall to rob JimThome.

The Twins added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, whenHunter reached home on a throwing error by the catcherPierzynski after stealing third and Jason Kubel doubled inRedmond.

Punto finished with three hits and two RBI and Tyner added threesingles, including a run-scoring one during a three-run secondinning.

Contreras lost for the third time in his last four decisions onthe road, giving up seven runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

 

Twins feed off Gardenhire's fire to topple White Sox

<h3>MINNESOTA 10, CHI WHITE SOX 4</h3>MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- It did not take the Minnesota Twinslong to break out following the firey display of their manager.

Mark Redmond capped a five-run sixth inning with a three-rundouble as the Twins rallied for a 10-4 victory over the ChicagoWhite Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Monday.

Prior to the offensive outburst by Minnesota, manager RonGardenhire had a heated discussion with the umpire crew. Thecontroversy started after Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski hitinto an inning-ending double play in the top half of the sixth.

Running out the play, Pierzynski apparently went to the insideof the base and clipped first baseman Justin Morneau's foot. Inbetween play, some of the Twins were talking to Pierzynski fromthe dugout. First base umpire Greg Gibson attempted to stopthe chatter, and subsequently made a slashing gesture across histhroat.

The gesture brought Gardenhire out of the dugout and started theargument.

"He was just pointing to our dugout and telling us to knock itoff," Gardenhire said. "I don't want my guys to get thrown outof a baseball game for something that happened out there. Myguys are just baseball players and they reacted to a situation.He came from first base and he was giving me (the slashingsign), it just kind of got the old Oklahoman up in me."

"They thought that I stepped on Morneau's foot, to be honest Ididn't even know that I did," Pierzynski said. "I would nevertry to hurt (anyone), especially Morneau, he is too good of aplayer. We don't want to make these guys mad because every timewe do they score 10 runs on us. It was nothing, amisunderstanding."

Minnesota center fielder Torii Hunter echoed Pierzynski'ssentiments.

"A.J. is a nice guy off the field," Hunter said. "On the field,I think he tries to get in your head a little bit and he didthat. But actually, I guess he woke up a sleeping dog."

After a moment of silence to honor the country's servicemen, theTwins mirrored their skipper's intensity by grabbing the leadand knocking White Sox starter Jose Contreras (4-5) out of thegame.

Trailing 4-3 after Paul Konerko delivered a two-run single inthe top half of the sixth, Minnesota got its decisive rallygoing as Jason Bartlett and Jason Tyner both singled.

Luis Castillo advanced both runners with a sacrifice and NickPunto plated the tying run when he outraced Contreras during aplay at first base. After Punto stole second, Michael Cuddyerwalked to load the bases before Chicago manager Ozzie Guillenpulled his starter in favor of Boone Logan.

The 22-year-old Logan did his job, getting reigning AmericanLeague MVP Morneau to hit a grounder to the first basemanKonerko, enabling the White Sox to go home for the second out ofthe inning.

However, Hunter followed with a high chopping grounder off DavidAardsma that bounced off home plate, enabling Punto to scorethe go-ahead run on the infield single. Redmond, who has filledin admirably for injured All-Star catcher Joe Mauer, ripping aline drive into left-center field that cleared the bases for an8-4 advantage.

"It's funny, as players we root for choppers off the plate and20-hoppers through the middle," Redmond said. "A lot of teamsroot for the home run, we're rooting for 20-hoppers up themiddle and a blooper. Another chopper off the plate, that isgood. That is Twins' ball."

That lead was more than enough for Johan Santana (6-4), whothrew eight innings for his longest outing the season. The CyYoung Award-winning lefthander allowed four runs and seven hitsand struck out seven for his second straight win.

Santana looked human early on, giving up a homer to Luis Terreroin the third and Konerko in the fourth.

"Everything was working pretty good," Santana said. "A couplemistakes, I left a couple of changeups in the middle, and theymade me pay. Other than that, I tried to stay aggressive."

"We got him today," Guillen said. "Four runs against him islike scoring 20 against anybody else."

Hunter saved Santana from giving up another blast in the eighth,making a jumping catch at the center field wall to rob JimThome.

"When he hit it, I didn't pick up the ball until late," Huntersaid. "It was almost over the fence by the time I picked it up.When I saw it, I just had to adjust and use that athleticability."

The Twins added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, whenHunter reached home on a throwing error by the catcherPierzynski after stealing third and Jason Kubel doubled inRedmond.

Punto finished with three hits and two RBI and Tyner added threesingles, including a run-scoring one during a three-run secondinning.

Konerko had two hits and drove in three runs, his firstmulti-RBI performance since April 24, for the White Sox, whoabsorbed a loss for the third time in their last four games.

Contreras lost for the third time in his last four decisions onthe road, giving up seven runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

"We pitched real poorly today," Guillen said. "From thebeginning, Jose had trouble finding the plate. And the bullpendid what they have been doing lately. They are not throwing theball good."