Can barely look: Twins roll to drop Sox 7 games back
The White Sox are not going to give up until the Twins officially clinch first place in the AL Central.
But after Tuesday night's 9-3 loss to their division rivals at U.S. Cellular Field, the Sox' collective hands were headed upward.
"We are through the wall right now," Paul Konerko said when asked if the White Sox' backs were up against it. "Before the series, you know it's tough and you have to probably sweep.
"But you just continue to play hard and, who knows, we get the next two and keep battling until they tell you you can't battle anymore.
"It's what you get paid to do and what you do as a baseball player. It's not something in my world where you make a conscious decision when you put on a uniform, you question if you play hard or you don't play hard."
The White Sox played hard while falling 7 games behind the first-place Twins, who reduced their magic number to 12. They just didn't play particularly well, especially after taking a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning.
"We lost, it wasn't enough," Sox starter John Danks said. "I felt I had enough stuff to give us a better result, but it's a pretty sick feeling right now."
Danks took the loss after allowing 4 runs on 9 hits in 7 innings, but the left-hander wasn't the major problem.
The White Sox' offense was - particularly disappointing newcomer Manny Ramirez.
Not only did the 38-year-old designated hitter go 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts and a walk while being booed by the crowd of 29,233, Ramirez left six runners on base.
"When you don't do good, you deserve to get criticized," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "That's part of the game. You've got to take it.
"But in the meanwhile we have to understand he didn't play in a little while and he got good at-bats; he just struck out. He's fighting for his at-bats, and everybody out there is, too. All those guys are fighting right now. Today we just came up short."
The White Sox came up short in the sixth inning, when they loaded the bases with no outs and scored just 1 run. And they really came up short in the seventh, when they loaded the bases with one out before Konerko and Ramirez went down swinging.
"That's part of the game," said Ramirez, who is still seeking his first extra-base hit and RBI with the Sox. "Sometimes they're going to be on third base and you're not going to bring it in. And sometimes they're going to be on first base with two outs and you bring them in. That's part of the game."
The White Sox still have two more games against the Twins, and they'll try to make the most of them.
"You know what, we've had our opportunities," Danks said. "We have no one to blame but ourselves for where we're at. We're in a battle and we're not going to lie down. We've put ourselves in a tough situation, but this team is going to fight to the end for sure.
"We obviously haven't been playing well against them this year. We had our opportunities on the field and at the plate and we just weren't able to come through."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p>
<p class="News">Twins 9, White Sox 3</p>
<p class="News"><b>We're No. 2:</b> The White Sox are 7 games behind the first-place Twins, who reduced their magic number to 12. The Sox also are 5-11 vs. Minnesota this season.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Manny MIA:</b> Manny Ramirez was 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts and left six runners on base. In 12 games with the White Sox, Ramirez has 10 hits (all singles) in 37 at-bats and still is looking for his first RBI.</p>
<p class="News"><b>On the run:</b> Paul Konerko tripled with one out in the fourth inning and was stranded when Manny Ramirez and Carlos Quentin struck out. It was Konerko's third triple in the last 10 seasons.</p>
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