Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - J.J. Hardy drove in the decisive run in a two-run seventh, and the Minnesota Twins distanced themselves from the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central with a pivotal 9-3 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.
Twins Bust Out Late, Extend Lead Over White Sox To Seven Games With 9-3 Win
Joe Mauer added three hits to raise his career total to 1,002, and Denard Span drove in four runs. Delmon Young added a homer and scored twice in the victory.
Francisco Liriano (14-7) won his eighth consecutive decision after allowing three runs, six hits and three walks while fanning seven in six innings.
Alexei Ramirez had two hits and two RBI for the White Sox, who have lost five of seven to damage their playoff hopes. John Danks (13-11) lost for the third time in four starts after yielding four runs and nine hits in seven frames.
After giving up the go-ahead run in the sixth, Minnesota went ahead for good with a rally in the seventh.
Young was hit by an 0-2 pitch to begin the inning and went to second on a wild pitch from Danks. Two batters later, Danny Valencia singled to center, sending Young to third; Alex Rios allowed the ball to skip under his glove in the outfield, which allowed Young to score the tying run easily.
Hardy followed with a double to the gap in left-center that plated Valencia easily with the go-ahead run.
The White Sox put together their own rally in the home half, but came up just short. Matt Guerrier allowed two singles to begin the frame, and Jesse Crain issued a one-out walk to Rios to load the bases. Crain, though, recovered to strike out both Paul Konerko and Manny Ramirez to maintain the lead.
Minnesota broke the game wide open with a five-run eighth. Jason Kubel doubled in Mauer, who led off with a single, and two walks loaded the bases for Valencia, who walked to force in a run. Span followed with a drive to center that tipped off Rios' glove for a three-run double and a 9-3 lead.
Brian Fuentes and Jon Rauch each threw a scoreless inning to finish off the Twins' win.
Young’s homer to start the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie, and Span added a two-out RBI single later in the inning for a 2-0 lead.
The White Sox came back with Ramirez's two-run single in the fifth to tie the game, and Chicago took its first lead when Konerko scored on A.J. Pierzynski's double play groundout in the sixth.
The Twins are a major-league best 40-16 since the All-Star break and are 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees for the majors' best record...Minnesota has won nine of 10 overall...The Twins are 5-0 against the White Sox this season in games where Liriano has started. Liriano's last loss occurred on July 9.
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