Carlos Perez grounded a go-ahead single in the seventh inning and Johnny Cueto dominated across seven strong frames to lift the host Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 victory against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
The White Sox (80-80) won for the fourth time in five games following an eight-game skid that torpedoed their playoff hopes. Chicago prevailed despite being out-hit 7-5.
Chicago’s AJ Pollock had two hits and scored twice, including the go-ahead run. Josh Harrison belted a game-tying, two-run home run in the second against Minnesota starter Bailey Ober.
The White Sox rallied against Twins reliever Griffin Jax, who fell to 7-4 after yielding one run on two hits in the seventh.
That helped make a winner out of Cueto, who broke a four-start losing streak. He spaced two runs and six hits with four strikeouts and zero walks. After allowing three hits in the first inning, including a two-run homer by Gio Urshela, Cueto settled down, as none of the remaining three hits he allowed went for extra bases.
Cueto (8-10) lowered his ERA to 3.35 in his final start of the season. The right-hander, who notched at least eight wins in nine of 10 seasons to open his career, reached that benchmark for the first time since 2017.
Carlos Correa had three hits for the Twins (77-83), who have lost three straight and four of five.
Urshela added two hits, including a leadoff single in the ninth against Liam Hendriks. The Chicago closer loaded the bases but recovered to record his 37th save in 41 opportunities this season, striking out three.
Ober allowed two runs on two hits in five innings with one walk and four strikeouts.
Twins infielder Luis Arraez, who leads the American League with a .315 batting average, was held out of the lineup due to left hamstring pain. Arraez is vying to become the first Twin to win a batting title since Joe Mauer in 2009.
–Field Level Media