It didn't look good early. The White Sox scored all six of their runs in the fourth, and were up 6-1. I thought we were going to lose.
But as Jayson Stark said on ESPN tonight, whatever the odds are, never count out the Twins.
They fought back, nickel-and-diming. They scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie it up.
The White Sox brought their closer Bobby Jenks in the eighth, and he was still pitching in the 10th when Nick Punto walked with one out. He went to second on a groundout, and Alexi Casilla knocked him in. Casilla had two hits.
Denard Span went three for four with three RBIs and a run; Joe Mauer went three for four with an RBI; and Carlos Gomez went four for five with three runs and two RBIs.
In other words, except for Mauer, it was the greenhorns who came through. Justin Morneau didn't have a hit. Neither did Delmon Young.
The other heroes included the bullpen. After a weak start by Kevin Slowey -- he gave up four earned runs and two unearned runs from his error in three and two-thirds innings -- six pitchers shut out the Sox over six and a third innings.
Joe Nathan got the win for pitching two innings. Also pitching were Matt Guerrier, Dennys Reyes, Boof Bonser, Jesse Crain and Craig Breslow.
The Twins, who beat the White Sox eight of nine times at the Metrodome, are now a half-game up and in control of their own destiny. And while the Twins play the Royals at home, the White Sox must play the Indians, who have been playing pretty well recently.
If the Twins make it, they would most likely face the Rays in a matchup of Cinderella teams, great stories and the best managers in the league. But that's a big if.
The Twins have played one more game than the White Sox. If the Twins and Sox finish within a half-game of each other, Chicago would have to play a make-up game. Then if they're tied, they would play a game in Chicago.
This was huge series, the biggest of the year. This game might have been their best comeback so far. But I keep going back to the first game of the series on the road against the Rays.
The Twins fell behind early and came back, just as they did Thursday. They scored five runs in the ninth to win that game. The Rays won the next two games, but Francisco Liriano won Sunday for a split of the series.
If the Twins hadn't split that series, they would've faced much longer odds. And remember that the Rays, like the Twins, are great at home. The Red Sox beat them only once at the Trop. The Cubs were swept.
How interesting that the two teams might meet again.
But there's lots of baseball left. The Twins could stumble, the White Sox might sweep the Indians.
Still, it feels great to be in first place.
Keywords: Alexi Casilla, Carlos Gomez, Chicago White Sox, Denard Span, Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
