Quentin, Buehrle help White Sox snap skid
MINNEAPOLIS — Carlos Quentin hit two home runs and had four RBIs, Mark Buehrle was sharp after a rough first inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 5-3 on Friday night to snap a six-game losing streak.
Buehrle (9-5) allowed three unearned runs and four hits over eight innings, extending his streak of allowing three runs or fewer to 17 straight games.
All three runs against Buehrle came in the first inning and were unearned because of an error by first baseman Adam Dunn.
After Jason Kubel gave the Twins a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer, Buehrle got into his familiar groove of working quickly and retired 22 of the last 24 hitters he faced.
Chris Sale pitched the ninth for his third save in four chances.
The White Sox — third in the AL Central — won for just the second time in their last 13 games against Minnesota.
Quentin hit his 22nd and 23rd homers for the 14th multi-homer game of his career. His two-run shot in the fifth off starter Nick Blackburn (7-9) gave Chicago the lead for good.
The Twins honored the 1991 World Series championship team during a pregame ceremony and gave away a bobblehead commemorating the famous play in Game 2 where Ron Gant was called out at first after Kent Hrbek appeared to wrestle him off the base.
The current Twins could use some of that fighter mentality as they fade back out of contention.
Minnesota arrived home at 5:30 a.m. Friday after going 4-6 on a West Coast trip, which dropped it eight games behind in the division.
A common theme during the Twins' slide has been lackluster starting pitching and an offense that shows no life after falling behind. The Twins managed two hits after falling behind in the fifth.
The White Sox did not draw a walk while getting swept by the Yankees earlier this week. Before the game, manager Ozzie Guillen chalked it up to guys wanting to single-handedly break the team out its slump and being overly aggressive.
The White Sox were patient against the normally accurate Blackburn, however. Paul Konerko drew the first walk three batters into the game and Chicago coaxed a career-high six walks from Blackburn.
The White Sox left the bases loaded twice, were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners.
They managed to get one run home with the bases loaded when Alexei Ramirez scored on a wild pitch in the eighth.
Joe Mauer — getting another start at first base — drove in the Twins' other run with a single in the first.
Jim Thome, who needs two more home runs to reach 600, did not play against his former team. Center fielder Denard Span returned from a concussion earlier this week, but sat out Friday.
Notes: Guillen on Thome possibly hitting his 600th home run this weekend: "I hope if he hits it, it's not to win the game. But I want to see it." ... White Sox CF Alex Rios, hitting .153 in his last 22 games, didn't start, but pinch-ran for Konerko in the eighth. ... Twins 2B Alexi Casilla (right hamstring) took grounders before the game and is on track to return next week. ... Twins 1B Justin Morneau began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester. ... Buehrle's streak of 17 games allowing three runs or fewer is tied with Dave Lemonds for the longest in White Sox history. ... Carl Pavano starts for the Twins on Saturday night against Chicago's Jake Peavy. ... Peavy is 1-5 with a 6.65 ERA in his last nine starts. ... Pavano is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA against the White Sox this season. ... Konerko's walk in the first inning was the first time a White Sox hitter drew a walk in 133 plate appearances. ... Kubel's home run was the 100th of his career and 20th against the White Sox. ... Quentin's last multi-homer game was June 8 against Seattle. ... Twins 3B Danny Valencia committed his 15th error in 105 games. He had six errors in 81 games last season.