Morning Box Score: Twins Thump Sox

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Sep 17, 2010 1:15PM

Last night's final game between the Twins and Sox started out with a thud when starter Carl Pavano hit the Sox' Paul Konerko in the face with a pitch. In a way, it was symbolic of the way the Twins have punched out any playoff hopes for the Sox. The Sox hung tough but couldn't push back enough and fell to the Twins 8-5, cementing the Twins as the leaders in the AL Central. Konerko would stay in the game and even homer in the third to help cut into the Twins' lead, but the Twins' offense kept pace. Sox starter Mark Buehrle allowed six runs over five innings of work, too many for the Sox to overcome. A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez added homers in a three-run sixth for the Sox to cut the lead to 6-5 but the Twins scored off of reliever J.J. Putz in the ninth to ice the game. Now leading the Sox by nine games with 16 to play, it would take a historic collapse by Minnesota to give the Sox any chance at the division title. Still, the Sox will play on, hoping for just such a collapse, welcoming Detroit to town for a weekend series starting tonight (7:10 p.m., WCIU).

The Cubs return to action tonight with a series in Florida against the Marlins (6:10 p.m., CSN).