White Sox outlast Twins in 12-inning slugfest

MINNEAPOLIS -- José Abreu won the individual battle Sunday afternoon by driving in a career-high seven to go with two homers and three hits. But it was Tim Anderson who delivered the game-winner with a two-run double to left in the 12th during a 13-11 White Sox victory over the Twins at Target Field. 
Avisaíl García finished off the White Sox climb back from a pair of four-run deficits when he singled to center with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth to give the visitors an 11-10 lead. The single came on a 2-2 fastball off of closer Brandon Kintzler, who simply couldn't find the plate in the ninth, walking two and working behind hitters. White Sox closer David Robertson matched Kintzler's blown save in the bottom of the ninth, as Kurt Suzuki's one-out double scored pinch-runner Logan Schafer.
"They are not easy," said Abreu through interpreter Billy Russo. "These guys over [with Minnesota] battle."
• Abreu's 2-homer, 7-RBI day only part of story
Abreu put Chicago up early with a three-run shot in the first off of Andrew Albers that traveled 430 feet per Statcast™. But he topped that mammoth shot in the seventh, launching a three-run homer off of Taylor Rogers to move the White Sox within one at 9-8. Statcast™ had the exit velocity at 107 mph and the distance at 465 feet.

Meanwhile the Twins were hitting pretty much everything in sight from the top of their lineup to the bottom with four players finishing with three hits each. Brian Dozier and Byron Buxton -- who hit a grand slam -- both homered and finished a triple short of the cycle. Miguel Sanó also went deep, as did catcher John Ryan Murphy, marking his first long ball of the season. Murphy also finished with three hits.

"You have a four-run lead with nine outs to go and guys that you kind of want to have lined up to pitch, but they stayed with the game and they found a way to get back even off Kintzler," said Twins manager Paul Molitor. "That's a tough one. You score 11 runs, a lot of guys had good days with the bats, and it wasn't enough."
Anthony Ranaudo started for the White Sox, yielding nine runs on 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings. Albers gave up three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings but also didn't factor in the decision. Rookie reliever Juan Minaya picked up career victory No. 1, after he was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday.
"Our guys battled, that's the biggest thing," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "Even getting down, they kept swinging the bats. Just grinding it out. It's a good win to be able to come back. A lot of guys contributed, and we had some good at-bats."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Grand awakening: Chicago took a 4-0 lead into the second inning, but Buxton erased that advantage in one big swing of the bat, as he launched a hanging Ranaudo fastball a Statcast-estimated 417 feet into dead center field for his first career grand slam. The two-out grand slam ensured that the Twins didn't squander a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity and was the red-hot Buxton's third homer in the last four games. It was Minnesota's second grand slam of the season, following fellow rookie Max Kepler's on July 10.
"Forget the hits and homers and stuff," Dozier said. "His approach looks a little different, which is good. He seems to have a little swagger, which is good, instead of being afraid to attack balls and stuff, which you could kind of see in the past."
Buxton added a double and a run in the fifth inning and single in the seventh and is now 9-for-16 with three homers, nine RBIs and seven runs scored in four games since his recall from Triple-A. More >

Anderson does it all: Anderson has now hit safely in 23 of his last 26 games. His two singles and a double also give Anderson 26 multihit efforts in 73 career games. Anderson also did some work with the glove Sunday, snagging Eddie Rosario's foul popup in the third after a long run down the line and after the ball deflected off of third baseman Todd Frazier's glove. More >

Dozier reaching new heights: Another day, another Dozier homer. This time, Dozier got all of a hanging slider in the fourth inning that eventually found itself 391 feet from home plate in the flowerpots in left-center field. The blast was Dozier's 35th of the season, extending his career-high, and making him the first Twins hitter to reach the 35-homer mark since Josh Willingham in 2012. His next homer will be a big franchise milestone, as Harmon Killebrew is currently the only player in Twins history to hit more than 35 in a season. Dozier moved into a tie for 10th all time in single-season homers among second basemen.
"Sometimes when you're trying hard not to make a mistake to a guy who's hot, that's when you make the mistakes," Molitor said. "We saw it today with Abreu a couple of times. Dozier got a hanging slider there, and like he's been doing, he's not missing pitches that he has a chance to hit."

Young arms stand strong: Minaya joined catcher Kevan Smith as the White Sox September callups, and it didn't take long for him to make a difference. Minaya threw one-plus innings on Sunday, striking out one, and earned his first career victory. When Minaya walked Jorge Polanco and Joe Mauer to start the 12th, while protecting a two-run lead, Tommy Kahnle finished things off. He stranded the bases loaded for his first White Sox save.

QUOTABLE
"I'm not going to tell you what was going through my mind." -- Ventura, on Kahnle facing a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the 12th, with Rosario at the plate. Kahnle knocked down a shot back to the mound, and Frazier threw him out at first.
"You don't see curtain calls a lot in September on a last-place team, but it was good. I think he's the last guy who wants to do something like that, but it was probably the right thing for him to get out there and acknowledge it." -- Molitor, on Buxton's curtain call after his grand slam
"He's the Big House. Don't compare me to Big House, man. I'm still the Little House. He texted me when I hit 30, and he said, 'Five more until you get to Big House's levels.'" -- Dozier, on tying Josh Willingham's 35 homers in 2012
WHAT'S NEXT
White Sox: A 10-game homestand for the White Sox begins Monday at 3:10 p.m. CT with a battle between Chris Sale and Detroit's Justin Verlander. These two matched up Wednesday, though neither factored in the Tigers' victory. Sale is 29-28 with a 3.51 ERA in 107 career appearances against the American League Central.
Twins: Right-hander José Berríos will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester for the third time on Monday to start on regular rest in the Twins' series opener against the Royals at 1:10 p.m. CT at Target Field. He is 2-4 with a 9.24 ERA in the Major Leagues but struck out 14 batters in his only start with Rochester since he was optioned back down.
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