Morning Box Score

By Matt Motyka in News on Jul 29, 2009 3:00PM

Twins Topple Sox
Mark Buerhle's bid at back-to-back perfection fell a few innings short on Tuesday night as the White Sox were defeated by the Twins 5-3. Buehrle set that Major League record for the most consecutive batters retired with 45, but, unfortunately for the Sox, his transition back to normalcy was not a graceful one, as the Twins tagged Buehrle for five runs by the end of the seventh inning. Chicago, who had scored one earlier on a homer by Jermaine Dye, added two more in a ninth, but could not close the four-run gap. The loss drops the Sox into a second-place tie with the Twins, still two back of the slumping Tigers. The two teams will close out their three-game series tonight at 7:10.

Astros Overwhelm Cubs
The Cubs couldn't suppress the Astros' bats on Tuesday, as they were beaten by Houston 11-6. The returning Ryan Dempster allowed six runs, five earned, over five innings, leaving his teammates with work to do at the plate. But the Cubs' offense did in fact keep step, batting through the order while scoring three runs in the fourth and adding another trio on Aramis Ramirez's game-tying homer in the fifth. From then on, however, it was all Astros, as they hung five runs on the Chicago bullpen over the final three innings. The Cubs also placed runners in scoring position in each of those innings, but could not summon the big hits. Half a game behind St. Louis now, the Cubs will try to resume their winning ways at 1:20 this afternoon.