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 Minnesota pounded out seven extra-base hits and 19 hits overall,
cruising to an 11-4 win at Target Field.
"All along we swung the bats really well," Twins manager Ron
Gardenhire said. "From the get-go, we put some up and then they shut
us down for a while. (John) Danks can do that. Once he gets on a
roll, he can shut you down with the best of them. We've seen him do
it many times. But at the end we started scoring and they couldn't
stop us -- the ball was flying everywhere."
The run support was most appreciated by Twins right-hander Trevor
May, who earned his first major league win. May (1-4) allowed six
hits and three runs in five innings. He struck out six and walked
one.
"I had better angle on my ball," May said. "It's starting to move
like it should. Stuff was sharper. I felt more confident throwing
stuff for strikes. Being able to use all your pitches in any count
was big. It wasn't as sharp as I ever was, but sharper."
Danks (9-10) went 4 2/3 innings, allowing 11 hits and seven runs.
His last win came in Minnesota on July 25, and Wednesday marked his
seventh consecutive start without a victory.
"This one was just not his night," Chicago manager Robin Ventura
said. "I don't know if he was up in the zone, but guys are sitting
on that fastball a little bit more. When he was going well, he had
his curveball mixing in and a really effective changeup. Right now
it just seems like everyone is really sitting on the fastball. If
you can't locate that stuff, you're going to get hit."
Minnesota went right to work in its half of the first, taking a 3-0
lead via five hits, including a triple by third baseman Eduardo
Nunez that scored shortstop Danny Santana and back-to-back doubles
from catcher Josmil Pinto and right fielder Oswaldo Arcia.
Not content to chip away at the deficit, the White Sox decided to
blast away. Left fielder Dayan Viciedo's 19th homer of the season
made the score 3-2.
Right fielder Avisail Garcia walked in the fourth inning to give the
Sox their first baserunner since the top of the first, and with two
outs, Viciedo ripped a 0-1 pitch 417 feet into the home run porch in
left field. It was the second homer in as many games for Viciedo,
after his winning hit Tuesday in the 10th inning of Chicago's 6-3
victory.
With a light rain falling in the fifth inning, White Sox second
baseman Marcus Semien singled and advanced to second on May's wild
pitch before Adam Eaton's line-drive single to right tied the score
at 3.
In the bottom of the fifth, Nunez led off with a double and Mauer
walked before a hard rain hit, delaying the game for 16 minutes.
When play resumed, Vargas hit Danks' first pitch for a bloop single.
Nunez, who was running on the pitch, scored from second as Minnesota
reclaimed the lead.
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"Kind of in my mind I think Vargas thought that after the delay I'd
probably try to come out and throw a fastball and get back in the rhythm
of things," said Danks, who is now 7-13 vs. Minnesota. "I threw a
changeup and it cut on me again, but I still got weak contact. It was
kind of par for the course the way the night went, but it finds a hole.
I'm not complaining. I didn't do myself any favors."
Mauer later came in on Arcia's fielder's choice for a 5-3 lead.
After Danks was lifted in favor of Matt Lindstrom, White Sox second
baseman Eduardo Escobar ripped the right-hander's first pitch into the
right-field corner for a triple, scoring two runs. Escobar came home on
a fielding error by shortstop Alexei Ramirez as Minnesota led 8-3 after
five innings.
"And the rest of it was downhill," Ventura said.
Twins rookie slugger Kennys Vargas struck the game's most emphatic blow
in the sixth inning, ripping his sixth career home run into the second
deck in left field. The two-run shot put Minnesota ahead 10-3.
"He's just a strong young man," Gardenhire said of Vargas, who has hits
in 13 of his past 14 games. "That was a young pitcher out there ... and
you know if he throws one up over the plate and Vargas swings in the
right spot it's got a chance to go a long way. And that's exactly what
happened."
After the teams traded runs in the eighth inning, Minnesota rookie
right-hander A.J. Achter pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning in his major
league debut.
NOTES: While the White Sox trail their all-time series with the Twins by
more than 40 games, they have played well at Target Field since it
opened in 2010. Chicago is 24-22 at the Twins' newest ballpark. ...
Claimed off waivers from Atlanta a month ago, Twins LF Jordan Schafer is
enjoying the change of scenery. After batting just .163 in 80 at-bats
with the Braves, Schafer is hitting .333 through 27 games for Minnesota.
... Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire's successful challenge of a stolen
base call Tuesday gave him a 17-15 mark in challenges this season.
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