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      CHICAGO (AP) - Dominant since the All-Star break and running
away with the AL Central title, the Minnesota Twins can breathe a
little easier.


      They'll wait to uncork the champagne, though.


      "Cart before the horse," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We're
not going to mess with that."

      Delmon Young hit his 18th homer, Carl Pavano got his 17th win
and the Twins beat the fading Chicago White Sox 8-5 to complete the
three-game sweep Thursday night.

      Paul Konerko hit a solo shot in the third against Pavano (17-11)
after being drilled in the face by a pitch in the first inning that
left him with a swollen lip. A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez
also went deep, but the Twins walked away with their 11th win in 12
games.

      They went 13-5 against the White Sox this season and lead them
by nine in the AL Central with 16 games to play as they try to lock
down their sixth division title in 10 years. Their magic number is
eight. They're a major league-leading 42-16 since the All-Star
break and are challenging Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees for
the best record.

      "We're capable of that. We knew we were and the funny part of
it is - I don't know if you guys remember the stretch going into
the All-Star break," Pavano said, referring to a 3-7 run that left
them 3½ games off the lead. "That was the flip side of
consistency."

      This looked like it would be an easy win for the Twins after
Young capped a three-run fifth with a two-run homer off Mark
Buehrle (12-11) that made it 6-2.

      Instead, the White Sox answered by sending up nine batters while
scoring three in the sixth and chasing Pavano. Even so, they walked
away with their seventh loss in nine games.

      "I think everybody knew we had to sweep them and not get
swept," Buehrle said. "Obviously they came in and kicked our butt
every which way."

      Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez started the sixth with
back-to-back homers, only the third time the White Sox have done
that this season, and Brent Morel followed with a double to the
right-field corner.


      Jose Mijares came in for Pavano and Morel got caught in a
rundown on a grounder to the left side by Juan Pierre, who reached
second on the play and then stole third. Omar Vizquel walked,
putting runners on the corners, before Alex Rios drove in Pierre
with a force against Matt Guerrier that made it 6-5.


      Konerko then walked with the crowd chanting "Paulie! Paulie!"
So did Manny Ramirez to load the bases before Carlos Quentin ended
the inning with a fly to center.


      The White Sox had runners on first and second in the seventh
after Brian Fuentes hit Juan Pierre, leading to an animated
discussion between manager Ozzie Guillen and plate umpire Jerry
Crawford. Both teams had been warned after Buehrle hit Michael
Cuddyer with the first pitch of the second inning, but there were
no ejections.

      It was a rough night for both starters with Buehrle giving up
six runs and eight hits in five innings. He has not won since
beating Minnesota on Aug. 19.


      Pavano wasn't much better but moved within one win of the career
high he set with Florida in 2004, even though he gave up eight hits
and five runs in five-plus innings.


      There was a big scare in the first when with a runner on and two
out, he nailed Konerko with a pitche between the lip and nose.

      The White Sox slugger was tended to for several minutes by
trainer Herm Schneider before trotting to first as fans shouted
"Paulie! Paulie!" Ramirez walked to load the bases before Carlos
Quentin popped out to end the inning.

      "We all felt terrible about it," Gardenhire said. "They did
what they had to do."


      Buehrle responded by plunking Cuddyer in the left shoulder, and
the Twins wound up scoring three in the second.


      "When I'm told to do something I try to go out there and do it
to the best of my ability," Buehrle said. "Obviously you got to
protect your guys."
   
      
      (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Minnesota Twins

Dominant since the All-Star break and running
away with the AL Central title, the Minnesota Twins can breathe a
little easier.

Young homers as Twins beat White Sox 8-5

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