Twins bounce back from sweep, down White Sox
Joe Mauer's two-out single snapped a seventh-inning tie, and Nick Blackburn and the Minnesota Twins hung on for a 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.
Blackburn (8-4) went seven innings, but wasn't at his best. Matt Guerrier and Joe Nathan were, with a perfect eighth and ninth to preserve an important win for Minnesota and notch Nathan's 23rd save.
The Twins took a 4-0 lead against Chicago starter John Danks in the first inning, but let the White Sox come back to tie it as former Minnesota catcher A.J. Pierzynski had three hits.
After being swept during the week by the New York Yankees, third-place Minnesota stayed four games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central race. The White Sox are 3 1/2 games back.