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White Sox-Twins Preview

Jul 11, 2009 - 5:46 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Chicago (44-41) at Minnesota (43-43), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The opening of Target Field can't come soon enough for the Chicago White Sox.

After losing for the 10th time in their last 11 games at the Metrodome, the White Sox look to even the three-game set with the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.

With Chicago going for its first win at the Metrodome since an 8-3 victory last July 30, left-hander John Danks gave up four first-inning runs in Friday's series-opening 6-4 loss to Minnesota.

"So? I couldn't care less," White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said of the team's recent struggles in Minneapolis. "Tomorrow's a new day. We can lose 100 in a row, but the next day is always a chance to win."

The White Sox (44-42), though, have not won a series at the soon-to-be closed Metrodome since taking two of three from Sept. 21-23, 2007. The Twins open their new downtown ballpark for the 2010 season.

Chicago right-hander Gavin Floyd is 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA in four starts at the Metrodome.

In his last start, Floyd (6-6, 4.33 ERA) was staked to a 3-0 lead and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, but the White Sox lost 6-4 to Kansas City on Saturday.

"I was throwing the ball well and then all of a sudden gave up some runs," Floyd said after walking three and allowing five runs over 5 1-3 innings. "I got behind a lot of hitters. I wasn't aggressive enough."

He was 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA in his previous five starts.

After getting swept by the visiting New York Yankees in a three-game set, Minnesota (44-43) won Friday for the only the third time in its last nine home games.

All-Star catcher Joe Mauer walked and scored in the first inning and had a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh. He is batting .432 with 10 homers and 30 RBIs at the Metrodome.

Twins DH Jason Kubel went 3 for 4 with three RBIs Friday, including a two-run ground-rule double in the first inning. Kubel is hitting .429 (9 for 21) with six RBIs against the White Sox in 2009, and two of his six career hits against Floyd have been homers.

Left-hander Glen Perkins (4-4, 4.38) gets the start for the Twins after getting scratched from Wednesday's game against the Yankees due to flulike symptoms.

Perkins has won his last two outings. In a 5-1 victory at Kansas City on July 1, he allowed one run and 10 hits over seven innings as he recorded 16 outs on the ground.

"I had a good sinker," Perkins told the Twins' official Web site. "Like my last time out (a 3-1 win at St. Louis on June 26), I was just trying to keep the ball on the ground. I was trying to throw it to the bottom of the zone, and they beat it into the ground today."

Perkins is 1-0 with a 5.56 ERA in two career starts versus the White Sox.

Pierzynski, who went 3 for 4 with two doubles Friday, is batting .407 (22 for 54) in his last 14 games.

White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez had two hits Friday and has seven multihit games in his last 11 contests. He is hitting .405 during this stretch.

Chicago has lost three straight on the road since winning its previous seven away from U.S. Cellular Field.