Morneau's clutch double gives Twins 4-3 win over White Sox

[May 01, 2008]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Justin Morneau came through with yet another clutch hit, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox Wednesday with a two-out RBI double in the seventh inning.

Nick Blackburn (2-1) wasn't sharp, but he lasted seven innings, allowing only three runs to give the Twins consecutive victories by starting pitchers for the first time in 18 days.

Nick Swisher walked on four pitches to start the game and scored on Jim Thome's double, then delivered a two-out single in the fifth to give the White Sox a brief 3-2 lead.

That hit was their only success with runners in scoring position, leaving them 1-for-6 for the afternoon and 5-for-43 in their last five games.

Morneau has fared much better in those situations. He raised his average with runners at second or third -- second in the league when the day began -- to .481 with 18 RBIs in 27 at-bats. He hit a high pitch from Boone Logan to deep left-center to drive in Carlos Gomez for the go-ahead run in the seventh and hang the loss on reliever Ehren Wasserman (0-1).

Gomez went 3-for-4 and scored twice.

After Blackburn -- who gave up eight hits, three runs and two walks while striking out four -- departed, Dennys Reyes struck out Thome, and Pat Neshek struck out Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin.

Quentin, who hit a solo homer in the fourth, slammed his bat down in disgust after the side-retiring whiff against the side-arming Neshek.

Joe Nathan picked up his ninth save in nine attempts with a scoreless ninth for Minnesota.

Because of a doubleheader last Saturday, long reliever Nick Masset made just his second career start for Chicago. Manager Ozzie Guillen wasn't willing to use Mark Buehrle or John Danks on three days of rest.

Masset threw 66 pitches in four innings and was plenty wild, throwing over the heads of Jason Kubel and Brendan Harris before hitting Michael Cuddyer near the shoulder with one that got away in the third.

Masset -- who surrendered five hits and three runs -- struck out five to offset three walks, though, and fanned Kubel with runners on first and second to end both the first and third innings. 

Cuddyer's single scored Gomez in the first, but Gomez tried to come home on his own in the fourth -- and it didn't work. Two runs were already across, thanks to Gomez's high-bouncing double down the left-field line and a groundout by Harris that shortstop Orlando Cabrera made a strong play on deep in the hole.

Gomez stole third, his 11th this season, and sprung to his feet once he saw catcher Toby Hall's throw rolling away. Joe Crede threw to Hall, who deftly blocked the plate and convinced home plate umpire Tim Timmons to call the out. Video replays appeared to show Gomez touched the plate before Hall tagged his back. Manager Ron Gardenhire argued for a bit, then gave up.

Notes: RH Scott Baker felt "great" according to Gardenhire in his pregame throwing session in the bullpen, and will make his scheduled start for Minnesota on Saturday. Baker has been fighting a mild groin strain. ... Guillen gave 1B Paul Kornerko the game off, partly because of a sore hand he aggravated Tuesday night. The plan is to rest some of the veteran regulars on this six-game, all-articifial-turf road trip that moves to Toronto for the weekend, but Guillen said he didn't want to leave the lineup "naked" so he will limit that. ... The Twins were set to take SS Adam Everett (strained shoulder) off the disabled list after the game so he could play on Friday.

[Associated Press; By DAVE CAMPBELL]

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