Danks blames himself for Sox loss
MINNEAPOLIS - John Danks blamed himself for the very end of a disappointing stay in Minnesota.
Gordon Beckham and Jose Abreu had two RBIs apiece, but Danks struggled through five-plus innings as the White Sox lost 6-5 to the Twins on Sunday.
Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham each drove in two runs for Minnesota, which completed its first four-game sweep of the White Sox in 20 years. Kurt Suzuki had three hits.
Chicago grabbed the lead with five runs in the third inning, and Danks retired the Twins in order in the bottom half. But the Twins went ahead to stay with three runs in the fourth.
"I went out there and get us right back in the dugout, unfortunately I give it right back," Danks said.
Brian Dozier and Mauer each singled home a run before Willingham's sacrifice fly gave the Twins a 6-5 lead. Danks (6-6) then got Kendrys Morales to ground out to end the inning, but the damage was done.
Danks allowed 10 hits and walked four.
"Can't blame anyone else but me on this one, these guys did plenty to win a ballgame," he said. "I guess I got in the way of that."
The White Sox have lost eight of 10. They came into the series just 4 1/2 games out of first and were hoping to make a move in the tight AL Central.
Instead, Chicago (35-41) leaves town in last place, two back of Minnesota in fourth. The White Sox trail Central-leading Detroit by seven.
Next up is a trip to Baltimore for a three-game series that begins Monday night.
"You have to keep it simple, you have to forget the bad stuff and think about the good stuff and go from there," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "Anytime you sit there and pity yourself, you're going to get buried. Nobody's going to do that around here."
Mauer singled in Sam Fuld in the second to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead, but Chicago jumped in front in the third. The White Sox loaded the bases with no outs, and Beckham doubled in a pair of runs with one down. Abreu then had a two-run single, and Conor Gillaspie added an RBI single later in the frame.
It wasn't enough, and Minnesota went to its first four-game series sweep of Chicago since June 9-12, 1994.
Phil Hughes (8-3) lasted just five innings but got the win. He allowed eight hits and tied a season high by giving up five earned runs. Hughes also had his first walk in 107 batters in the third.
Danks dropped to 0-6 with a 6.18 ERA in his last eight starts against Minnesota dating to Aug. 17, 2010.