Crede homers, Twins beat White Sox 12-5

When the White Sox and the Minnesota Twins last hooked up at U.S. Cellular Field, they combined to play a near perfect game.

Thanks to a coming-of-age start from John Danks, a great defensive play from center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. and a solo home run from Jim Thome, the Sox squeaked past Minnesota 1-0 in the AL Central tiebreaker and advanced to the playoffs.

What a difference a few months makes.

The Twins were back on the South Side on Friday, and having Joe Crede as their starting third baseman was just the start of the marked differences.

On a frigid, windy night, this looked like anything but a game to decide a berth in the postseason. And burdened by a brutal effort from the bullpen, the White Sox dropped their third straight, this one 12-5.

"I think we brought in the right guys; they just didn't get it done," manager Ozzie Guillen said after Clayton Richard, Mike MacDougal and D.J. Carrasco combined to allow 8 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings.

The Twins, always an opportunistic club, had nine straight hitters reach base to start the seventh inning, when they wound up scoring 7 runs to break the game open.

Carrasco took the brunt of the beating, but MacDougal again appeared to put his stay with the Sox in jeopardy. The enigmatic right-hander faced two hitters, threw 8 straight balls and got the hook.

"It's hard for me, man," Guillen said when asked about MacDougal. "We have a lot of faith in him. We believe he can do stuff. We wish we could figure out what's going on and make him a better pitcher."

At first glance, Jose Contreras raised similar concerns.

Making his first start since Aug. 9 of last season, when he ruptured his left Achilles' tendon, Contreras struggled to get through 5 innings. While throwing 86 pitches, Contreras allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. He also served up a solo home run to Crede leading off the second inning.

"Contreras was pretty good," Guillen said. "The first couple of innings was a little struggle, but that's what we expected. They only hit a couple balls hard."

Contreras said the most important thing was coming out of his season debut in good shape.

"I feel fine," Contreras said through a translator. "But I feel bad because the team lost. Tomorrow, I'll go back at it."

At least the Sox hit. Limited to 1 run on 7 hits in back-to-back losses to Kansas City, the White Sox had 7 hits against Twins starter R.A. Dickey and two relievers, including a solo home run from Paul Konerko and a 2-run shot from Carlos Quentin.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=285898">Sox pay tribute to Crede<span class="date"> [4/10/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285899">Wise gets first hit, then promptly gets picked off<span class="date"> [4/10/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>