Thursday, July 31, 2008 - Posts

July 31: Twins 10, White Sox 6

In hindsight, John Danks probably should've been pulled when Ozzie Guillen pulled his players off the field after Minnesota Twins fans began chucking crap on the field protesting Ron Gardenhire's ejection spurned by Gardenhire's protest of a blown call.

He had pitched six innings, had a 4-3 lead and just hit Denard Span with a 1-1 pitch.  But A.J. Pierzynski appealed to first base, saying Span didn't pull the bat back on a bunt attempt, and won the call.

Of course, Danks went on to walk Span.  That would be the last batter he faced, and of course he came around to score when Matt Thornton threw a wild pitch and Joe Mauer shot a single through Orlando Cabrera.  Jason Kubel would hit a three-run homer off Octavio Dotel, and that was the ballgame, though Jermaine Dye protested with a two-run homer to cut the lead to one.  Nick Swisher couldn't scoop a couple low throws, which led to three more runs.

The Sox had a 4-0 lead thanks to a two-run Jim Thome shot and a two-run Pierzynski single, but Justin Morneau's three-run homer cut it to a one-run game.

Record: 60-47 | Box score | Play-by-play