TNT, Sox dynamite
It's officially contagious, this hitting bug.
Even White Sox center fielder Nick Swisher, who couldn't buy a hit two weeks ago, has been happily infected.
Swisher smacked a 3-run home run Sunday that gave the Sox a 3-1 lead in the second inning, and the hottest lineup in baseball poured it on with 5 runs in the third and 4 more in the fifth to qualify their recent hitting outbreak as a full-fledged epidemic.
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The White Sox moved to 10 games over .500 (36-26) and stretched their lead in the American League Central to a season-high 5#189; games by pasting second-place Minnesota 12-2 after an 89-minute rain delay at the game's outset.
It was the sixth win in a row for the Sox, who have torched Twins pitching for 33 runs on 47 hits in the first three games of a four-game series that concludes today at 1:05 p.m.
"Baseball is a game of ups and downs," said Swisher, who has raised his average to .221 by hitting .345 (10-for-29) with 2 home runs during a seven-game hitting streak. "I don't know, I guess that's why you play 162 games, because it's not exactly going to go the way you want it to all the time.
"You just have to keep grinding and battling and things will turn around in your favor."
The Sox pounded out 15 hits, marking the first time they have logged 15 or more hits in three consecutive games since 1932, the year Al Capone entered a federal prison in Atlanta after he was convicted of tax evasion.
The Sox found nothing evasive about Twins pitching, however. They tagged starter Kevin Slowey with 8 earned runs in 3 innings. Then they teed off on reliever Juan Rincon for 4 more runs, highlighted by an Alexei Ramirez's 2-run homer in the fifth.
"They hit everything we threw up there," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They were just killing us. Slowey mixed it up, but it didn't matter. We haven't been able to stop them."
Meanwhile, Gavin Floyd (7-3) recorded the White Sox' league-leading 41st quality start by pitching 7 innings of 2-run baseball. But the offense stole the show again.
What was recently a hitting famine is now offensive, and the White Sox are enjoying their seats at the all-you-can-eat buffet while it lasts.
"We're just trying to ride it out," said Paul Konerko, who went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. "We know we're not going to score double-digit runs every day, or even once a week, or every two weeks. I mean, it's not that easy. We're just happy to get the wins."
White Sox 12, Twins 2
At the plate: The White Sox pounded out 15 hits for a grand total of 47 so far in the first three games of the series. They scored 5 runs in the third inning, when they batted around for the 10th time this season. Nick Swisher went 2-for-4 with a double, a 3-run homer and 4 RBI. Alexei Ramirez went 3-for-4 with a 2-run homer and 3 RBI.
On the mound: Gavin Floyd struck out nine Twins, besting his career high of 7 strikeouts. Floyd (7-3) delivered the White Sox' league-leading 41st quality start by holding Minnesota to 2 earned runs on 2 hits with 1 walk in 7 innings. Boone Logan and Esteban Loaiza each pitched 1 scoreless inning.