(Sports Network) – The Chicago White Sox take aim at their second four-game
sweep of the Minnesota Twins in just over three years as the two clubs
conclude their series this evening.

Pitching has helped the White Sox dominate this set so far after they came in
riding a four-game slide. They won the first portion of a doubleheader on
Monday by a 2-1 margin, then saw Zach Stewart threw a near-perfect game to win
the nightcap.

Last night was Jake Peavy’s turn in Chicago’s second straight shutout as he
battled flu-like symptoms to pitch into the seventh inning of a 3-0 win. He
escaped trouble in each of the first four innings, but ended up allowing only
four hits while striking out nine and winning for the third time in 11 starts
since the beginning of July.

“I’ve been battling a head cold, congestion,” said Peavy. “I was a little more
aggressive. We didn’t have a whole lot of 1-2-3 innings, but I had a good game
plan. I stretched out enough to get a win.”

Alex Rios had a solo homer and Alejandro De Aza had two hits, including an RBI
single for Chicago, which still trails first-place Detroit by eight games in
the American League Central.

Facing three games in two days, the struggling Twins made a rare move as they
became the first time in 25 years to start three players making their major
league debuts in the same game.

Australian-born righty Liam Hendriks (0-1) pitched admirably in his debut, but
was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on four hits in seven
innings.

“I went out there and attacked my pitch plan,” Hendriks said. “It worked
pretty good. I walked a couple of guys, which is kind of irritating for me. I
hate walking people, but I got out of it and got through it pretty well.”

First baseman Chris Parmelee and center fielder Joe Benson were also called up
from the minor leagues to make their MLB debuts, but arrived to see the Twins
lose their fifth straight game.

Parmelee was 2-for-4 with leadoff singles in the second and fourth innings,
but was stranded at third base both times. Benson batted first in the order
and went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Overall, Minnesota is 3-14 in its past 17 games and has lost eight of its last
nine versus Chicago.

John Danks will try to rebound for the White Sox tonight following his first
loss in five starts last time out.

The left-hander fired a three-hit shutout at Seattle on Aug. 27 before getting
lit up for eight runs over 4 2/3 innings of a loss to the Tigers on Friday.
Danks had been 2-0 in his previous four appearances, but dipped to 6-10 with a
4.01 earned run average on the season.

Danks has faced the Twins just once this season and got a loss back on May 3
despite a quality start. The 26-year-old yielded three runs in eight innings,
but is 6-8 with a 4.95 ERA versus Minnesota lifetime regardless.

Carl Pavano aims to build off his first win since the All-Star break with
tonight’s start versus the White Sox.

The 35-year-old was 0-5 over his previous nine games before recording a win at
the Angels on Friday. He allowed four runs — three earned — on seven hits
over 6 2/3 innings, but did not allow a homer after yielding five in his
previous three outings.

“The guys put together some great at-bats,” said Pavano, who won for the first
time since July 7 at the White Sox. “The Angels are aggressive, but I was able
to keep the ball down in the zone and keep them off-balance.”

The right-hander is 7-11 with a 4.60 ERA and lost to Chicago on Aug. 6 despite
yielding only one earned run in eight innings of work. Pavano is 8-4 with a
3.26 ERA versus the White Sox lifetime.

The Sports Network

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Peavy struck out a season-high nine and Alex Rios homered to help the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Peavy (7-7) allowed four hits and walked two in 6 1-3 innings against a Twins team that had three players who were called up from Double-A in the last two days.

Alejandro De Aza had two hits, including a triple, and an RBI, and Sergio Santos picked up his 29th save for the White Sox, who have won three in a row and eight of 12.

Liam Hendriks (0-1) allowed three runs and four hits over seven innings in his major league debut. Chris Parmelee had two hits in his first game as a pro, but the Twins lost for the 14th time in 17 games.

Paul Konerko, who hasn’t hit a homer in his last 60 at-bats, got a much-needed day off, but the White Sox still managed to scratch together enough offense for Peavy. Brent Morel added an RBI single as the Sox beat the Twins for the eighth time in the last nine games in the series.

The White Sox are in the middle of a stretch of 28 straight games against the AL Central, but they only have three games left against division-leading Detroit. The Tigers beat the Indians 10-1 on Tuesday night, keeping the White Sox eight games back.

“We’re still in the pennant race,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I know it’s going to be hard. … One thing about it, we’re not going to quit.”

There was a time when the Twins owned the White Sox, going 29-7 against them in a stretch that included six straight victories to open 2011. But the wheels have come off for a Twins team that expected to contend for a third straight division title.

Calling up Hendriks, Parmelee and center fielder Joe Benson from Double-A New Britain gave the Twins three players in the starting lineup making their major league debuts for the first time in franchise history, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.

Benson misplayed a fly ball from De Aza in the fifth inning, diving for it and letting it get past him for a triple. Morel followed with a single to give the White Sox a 3-0 lead.

That was plenty for Peavy, who stranded runners on third base in the second and fourth innings but never really ran into trouble all night long. Joe Mauer went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, hearing plenty of boos when Matt Thornton got him swinging in the eighth.

The Twins were shut out for the 12th time this season, tied a season high with 14 strikeouts and have managed just two runs in their last four games. They trail the Tigers by 22 games in the Central and were officially eliminated from the playoff race on Tuesday night.

NOTES: The Twins said Justin Morneau will go through early batting practice on Wednesday to test his concussion symptoms. Even though he is not on the DL, he will have to get approval from Major League Baseball before being cleared to return to the field. When he does, Morneau will only DH and not play 1B. … The last team to debut at least three players in the starting lineup on the same day was the San Diego Padres, when they had four in 1986. … The last time three Twins made their big league debuts in the same game was April 7, 1999, against Toronto, when Joe Mays, Dan Perkins and Mike Lincoln all came out of the bullpen. … Guillen said he considered giving Konerko one of the games of Monday’s doubleheader off, but wanted to get him a full day’s rest. Konerko will be back in the lineup on Wednesday night. … White Sox OF Juan Pierre went 0 for 4 and remains two hits shy of 2,000 for his career. … RHP Carl Pavano (7-11, 4.60) takes the mound in the series finale on Wednesday night against White Sox LHP John Danks (6-10, 4.01). Danks is just 2-7 on the road this season, the fourth-lowest winning percentage in the majors. But he’s 6-2 with a 2.85 ERA over his last 12 starts after starting the season 0-8 with a 5.25 ERA. Pavano is 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three starts against the Sox this year. He’s given up an AL-high 221 hits this season and has allowed nine or more in eight of his last nine starts.

(Sports Network) – The Chicago White Sox take aim at their sixth straight win
this evening when they go for a sweep in the finale of a three-game series
with the Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field.

The White Sox continued to roll on Tuesday, as they scored five times in the
eighth inning on their way to an 8-6 win. Alejandro De Aza belted a three-run
homer and Juan Pierre added an RBI single for Chicago, which has won seven of
nine, but remains five games behind the AL Central-leading Tigers, who beat
the Royals in extra innings earlier Tuesday.

Rookie starter Zach Stewart gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings for Chicago, but
Will Ohman (1-3) recorded the final out in the top of the fifth to earn the
win. Sergio Santos fanned three in a scoreless ninth to record his 28th save
of the season.

“We’re putting together a nice little run here,” said Paul Konerko. “The best
thing to do is not think about that, just keep taking it day by day.”

After this series, the White Sox will visit the Tigers for three games at
Comerica Park.

Jason Kubel hit a three-run homer for the Twins, who have lost 11 of 13.

Twins starter Anthony Swarzak (3-5) lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs
— six earned — on six hits.

“They beat me when they had the chance,” said Swarzak. “They got guys on and
they got them in and that’s what it’s all about.”

As if things weren’t bad enough for the Twins, former AL MVP Justin Morneau is
dealing with mild concussion symptoms. It was a head injury that cost Morneau
the entire second half of last season.

“I’m sure it makes him nervous, but it’s something that he’s had to really
deal with for a long time,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “So it’s something we
don’t take very lightly around here. We’ll be really careful with this
situation.”

Hoping to keep the White Sox in the win column this afternoon will be righty
Jake Peavy, who is 6-6 with a 4.93 ERA. Peavy beat the Seattle Mariners on
Friday, holding them to a pair of runs and seven hits in six innings.

Peavy tossed eight scoreless innings to beat the Twins back on August 7 and is
1-1 in four starts against them with 3.24 ERA.

Minnesota, meanwhile, will counter with lefty Scott Diamond, who has lost his
first two starts. After losing to Cleveland, Diamond was defeated by Detroit
on Friday, as he surrendered five runs (four earned) and 10 hits in just 6 1/3
innings.

Up until this current series Minnesota had been a thorn in Chicago’s side this
season, taking seven of the 11 matchups, including five of the six played in
Chicago.

The Sports Network

CHICAGO (AP) — Alejandro De Aza helped the Chicago White Sox survive a stormy few innings. The bullpen took care of the rest.

De Aza drove in a career-high four runs to lead the White Sox to their fifth straight win, 8-6 over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Chicago overcame a pair of three-run deficits in the middle innings, going ahead with a five-run fifth before holding on with the help of 4 1-3 shutout innings by the bullpen.

De Aza’s three-run homer in the fourth tied it 3-all. He also walked and scored two runs. Paul Konerko doubled, scored twice and had an RBI during Chicago’s decisive five-run rally.

“Yeah it feels great because anyway I can try to help the team, it’s going to feel good,” De Aza said.

Will Ohman (1-3) got the win and Sergio Santos struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save.

“I think the bullpen is one of the strongest things we’ve got all year long, the most consistent,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “That’s a big part of American League baseball.”

The comebacks got starter Zach Stewart off the hook after he allowed six runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings.

“I wasn’t really happy with (the outing),” Stewart said. “I just didn’t feel like I pitched very good. We did a great job of battling back.”

Jason Kubel hit a three-run homer for Minnesota, which fell 23 games below .500 for the first time since the end of the 200 season. The Twins are 6-21 this month, ensuring the worst August in franchise history.

Twins starter Anthony Swarzak (3-5) allowed eight runs — six earned — over 4 1-3 innings.

“They got guys on and got them in, and that’s what it’s all about,” Swarzak said.

The White Sox remained five games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central. The Tigers beat Kansas City 2-1 in 10 innings earlier Tuesday.

The game came to life in the fourth with three straight three-run frames and Chicago’s wild five-run fifth — which erased a 6-3 deficit.

The White Sox sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning and were helped by an error and two hit batsmen. Michael Cuddyer threw the ball away on what might have been an inning-ending double play, opening the floodgates for Chicago.

“You finally score some runs, but as you see, defensively we didn’t make enough plays again and you give it back to them,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Those are the frustrating things.”

Konerko had an RBI double. Two runs scored on Cuddyer’s miscue to tie the game 6-all. The go-ahead run scored when reliever Alex Burnett hit Gordon Beckham on the helmet with the bases loaded.

Kubel launched a drive into the back of the Twins’ bullpen in right field, putting Minnesota ahead 3-0 in the fourth.

Chicago came right back with De Aza’s three-run shot into the same bullpen.

“When (De Aza) hit the home run, I knew (we) were going to get some energy in the dugout, right away,” Guillen said. “Seems like he’s been doing everything the team needs him to do.”

Stewart couldn’t take advantage of the second chance, giving up three runs and exiting in the fifth. Joe Mauer laced a two-run double and scored on Cuddyer’s single.

After 14 runs were scored in two innings, Chicago’s bullpen quieted the game down. Ohman got the last out of the fifth, Jason Frasor threw a scoreless sixth and Chris Sale struck out four over two scoreless frames, setting up Santos.

“Everyone of the guys in our bullpen I think can be a closer and throw the ninth,” Santos said. “We feel like that’s our strong point. … We’re kind of going on all cylinders right now.”

NOTES: Manager Ozzie Guillen said before the game that he’d like to return to the White Sox in 2012 but would only do so if his contract is extended. … Rehabbing White Sox C A.J. Pierzynski (fractured left wrist) and RHP Phil Humber (facial contusion) appeared for Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. Pierzynski went hitless in three at-bats and is expected to rejoin the White Sox on Thursday. Humber, who allowed seven hits and four runs over five innings, is slated to pitch Monday at Minnesota. … Twins 1B Justin Morneau is expected to miss several games due to mild concussion symptoms. Morneau missed the second half of last season because of a concussion. … Minnesota’s Scott Diamond will square off against Chicago’s Jake Peavy in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale. Diamond is seeking his first major-league win.

CHICAGO (AP) — Mark Buehrle pitched four-hit ball into the eighth inning and Tyler Flowers drove in two runs as the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 3-0 Monday night.

The White Sox have won four straight and improved to two games above .500 for the first time since April 13. They also moved within five games of the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers.

Buehrle (11-6) pitched around two walks in 7 2-3 innings and struck out four. He won his 159th game, tying him for sixth on the White Sox’s all-time list.

Buehrle has allowed only one earned run in 30 2-3 innings this season against the Twins and has 27 wins in his career against Minnesota. He has more wins against the Twins than any other active pitcher has against a single opponent.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)