Danks settles down after rough start, but Sox fall to Twins
There's no slaughter rule in major-league baseball, but it looked like the White Sox were ready to head back to the team hotel early Friday night.
Playing their first game of the season at the dreaded Metrodome against the rival Minnesota Twins, Sox starter John Danks rolled into the game with 19 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.
But Danks couldn't find the strike zone in the first inning, walking the first four batters he faced and allowing 4 runs before making it back to the dugout.
"I don't know," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters after the Twins hung on for a 6-4 win. "He just couldn't find the plate. I don't see that too often with John. One thing about John is he likes to throw the ball over the plate. He couldn't throw a strike and got a little bit rattled."
Danks threw 40 pitches in the first inning, but the left-hander settled down and the Sox' offense chipped away against Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn in the opener of a big three-game series.
The White Sox scored single runs in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings to tie the score, but the scrappy Twins answered back against the Sox' bullpen.
Octavio Dotel walked Nick Punto leading off the seventh inning, and Guillen called on left-hander Matt Thornton.
Denard Span sacrificed Punto to second base, and after Brendan Harris lined out, Punto stole third.
With two outs, the Sox could have walked the Twins' next hitter, Joe Mauer, to get to Justin Morneau. The two left-handers are arguably the most dangerous duo in baseball.
"Those two guys hitting with the game on the line, you can pick either one," Guillen said. "You have to be careful with both of them."
Thornton went 2-0 on Mauer and appeared to be issuing an "unintentional" intentional walk.
But Thornton's next pitch was a fastball down the middle and Mauer drove it to center field for a run-scoring single.
"He's a good hitter," Guillen said. "(Thornton) got behind and that kid didn't try to do too much. He hit the ball up the middle. He beat him."
The Twins tacked on a big insurance run off Bobby Jenks in the eighth. Another big stolen base, this time by pinch-runner Matt Tolbert, set up the run.
"They can do a lot of good things," Guillen said of the Twins. "They know how to play the game."
A.J. Pierzynski (3-for-4) and Chris Getz (2 RBI) sparked the White Sox' offense.
Scot Gregor's game tracker
Twins 6, White Sox 4
Friday's game: C+. The Sox were pretty good in the middle, but Minnesota capitalized early and late to win yet another game at the Metrodome.
Streak's over: White Sox starter John Danks entered Friday's game with a scoreless steak of 191/3 innings. That ended in a hurry when Danks walked the first four Minnesota hitters he faced.
Turf trouble: The Sox are 3-6 on artificial turf this season. Last year, they were 4-16 on the fake grass.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=306317">Solid rehab effort from Colon<span class="date"> [7/10/09</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>