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The win moved the Twins to within a half game of Chicago, which has been atop the AL Central since May 17. Minnesota can move into first place for the first time since May 14 with a win in the third game of this four-game series Wednesday night.
Given a 4-0 lead, Clayton Richard (0-1) was cruising in his second major league start until the in the fifth.
After Carlos Gomez drove in Minnesota’s first run with an RBI single, Joe Mauer lined a shot off Richard’s left leg. The ball bounced into foul territory and Brendan Harris scored from third, leaving the bases loaded for Morneau’s three-run double.
Mauer singled home Gomez in the seventh for what would turn out to be a key insurance run.
One night after being shut out, Chicago appeared to be back on track early. Two runs scored on Josh Fields’ double in the second and Brian Anderson’s solo home run made it 4-0 in the fifth.
After Minnesota took the lead in the fifth, starter Glen Perkins (8-3) held Chicago scoreless in the sixth and four Minnesota relievers preserved the win.
Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his 29th save in 31 chances, but gave up a two-out solo homer to Nick Swisher, who broke his bat but still managed to drive the ball over the right-field fence.
Richard is replacing the injured Jose Contreras in the White Sox rotation. The 24-year-old lefty has showed flashes of brilliance in his two major league starts, but hasn’t made anyone forget about Contreras.
Contreras could be back by early August to help a pitching staff that has posted a 6.32 ERA over its last 13 games.
Perkins improved to 6-1 in his last 11 starts. He allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings.
