AL Central update: White Sox win, Twins lose to put magic number at 7

September 19, 11:42 PMChicago White Sox ExaminerJJ Stankevitz

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After dropping three tough games in a four-game series to the Yankees, it looked like the White Sox' road wasn't going to get any easier in Kansas City, which had won seven games in a row coming into their series with the White Sox.

Meanwhile, the Twins showed signs of life yesterday when they scored five runs in the ninth inning to erase a two-run deficit off reliever Dan Wheeler, beating the Rays 11-8.

Heading into Friday's action, the Twins were just 1.5 games back of the White Sox—but, as is usually the case with tight playoff races, that changed quickly.

Behind a grand slam by Alexei Ramirez and a pair of solo home runs by Dewayne Wise, sending Kansas City to their first loss in over a week. Meanwhile, in Florida, Twins' starter Nick Blackburn was lit up for six earned runs in just 1.1 innings of work as the Rays rolled, winning the game 11-1.

Mark Buehrle threw six strong innings for the White Sox, allowing three earned runs (all of them coming on a home run by Mark Teahen) on six hits, one walk, and two strikeouts en route to improving his record to 14-11 on the season. Buehrle continued his excellent September pitching, as he has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in all four of his starts in the final month of the MLB regular season.

More encouraging than Buehrle's fourth consecutive solid start was the performance by the White Sox bullpen, which greatly contributed to two of the Sox' losses in New York. Matt Thornton, Octavio Dotel, and Scott Linebrink all threw a scoreless inning apiece—and, even though it was against the Royals, it's a very encouraging sign for Dotel and Linebrink.

Ramirez' grand slam gave him three on the season—tying a MLB rookie record that was set by the Yankees' Shane Spencer in 1998.

Jim Thome hit a solo home run in the fifth—No. 540 in his career—and Orlando Cabrera continued his torrid September, going 2/5 with an RBI, raising his batting average for the month to .377 and .282 for the season.

Nick Swisher also added a pair of hits, breaking a hitless streak that dated back to Sept. 10. It was also Swisher's first multi-hit game since Sept. 5 against Los Angeles.

The win could not have come at a better time, as the Twins lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.

Like Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins before him, Blackburn was wholly ineffective in his start, allowing three runs in the first and second innings before being pulled. Blackburn, who normally is an excellent control pitcher, walked three Rays batters in his 1.1 innings of work, giving Tampa Bay more opportunities to drive in runs—which they did with ease against the young Twins' starter.

Carlos Pena hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning off Boof Bonser that became the first home run ever awarded thanks to instant replay. The hit was initially ruled a double, but replay showed that the ball went into the stands and bounced back on to the field, so a home run was awarded and the Rays went up 9-0.

That was more than enough support for Edwin Jackson, who improved to 12-11 by throwing 7.2 strong innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.

With the Twins' loss, the White Sox' magic number dropped to seven, meaning the White Sox just need any combination of seven wins and/or Twins losses to send them to the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

The Twins' Kevin Slowey (12-10, 3.66 ERA) will go against the Rays' Scott Kazmir (11-7, 3.50 ERA). Gavin Floyd (16-7, 3.73 ERA) will go on short rest against Kyle Davies (7-7, 4.32 ERA). The White Sox have already faced Davies three times this year, with Davies throwing 5.2, 5.1, and 5.0 innings in his three outings, allowing three runs in each of them.

I've been trying to update the AL Central race every night lately, but I'm going to have to take tomorrow off—but for good reason, as I'll be in Kansas City for the 6:10 pm game. Be sure to check back Sunday for more updates and analysis.