Ramirez, Santiago Lead White Sox Over Twins 5-2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Alexei Ramirez homered and had three RBIs, Hector Santiago won for the first time since June 21 and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Sunday.
Ramirez finished a triple shy of the cycle. He homered to lead off the fifth inning, giving Chicago a 4-2 lead and helping his team win its first road series in more than a month.
Jeff Keppinger's single scored Avisail Garcia to make it 5-2 later in the fifth.
Brian Dozier had two hits and an RBI for Minnesota, which went 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position and lost for the fifth time in six games.
Santiago (4-7) wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, getting Trevor Plouffe and Oswaldo Arcia on popups.
The left-hander, who received only 11 runs of support in his previous eight starts, threw 117 pitches and held the Twins to one earned run over six innings.
Addison Reed worked around a leadoff walk to Joe Mauer in the ninth to earn his 31st save in 36 chances.
Joining teammates Justin Morneau and Wilkin Ramirez in wearing his socks high, Twins starter Samuel Deduno (7-7) didn't walk a batter for only the second time this season. But he hit three batters with pitches and balked once on his way to another rough outing.
The right-hander from the Dominican Republic allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings and has lost his last three starts since winning three of his previous four.
Chicago has struggled to score all season, but has come on of late. Ramirez has three home runs and 11 RBIs since moving into the No. 3 slot in the batting order eight games ago.
As a team, the White Sox have scored 35 runs in their last seven games and are hitting .307 during that span.
Santiago and the White Sox benefited from a little good fortune on Sunday, too.
After Dozier and Mauer singled to start the Minnesota first, Josh Willingham hit a shot that landed in the second tier of the roof deck — just a few feet on the foul side of the pole in left field.
Willingham eventually struck out.
With the Twins down 3-2 in the third, Willingham tried to score on a wild pitch, but the ball ricocheted off the limestone wall behind home plate right back to catcher Josh Phegley, who flipped it to Santiago in time to tag out a sliding Willingham at the plate.
NOTES: Chicago plays 23 of its next 26 games against teams above .500, including series against each of the current first-place teams in the American League. ... Twins 2013 first-round pick Kohl Stewart was promoted to the Elizabethton Twins after posting a 1.69 ERA with 16 strikeouts in three starts with Minnesota's rookie level Gulf Coast League affiliate. ... The Twins will send rookie Kyle Gibson (2-3, 6.27 ERA) to the mound for his 10th career start Monday afternoon in a makeup game against the Mets. New York will counter with Dillon Gee (8-8, 3.79). ... Chicago starts a three-game series in Kansas City on Tuesday, opening with John Danks (2-10, 4.54), who is 0-5 with a 4.70 ERA in his last eight starts.
(© 2013by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)
