Anderson remains a hit, but Sox fall apart in 12th
MINNEAPOLIS — Say this for White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson:
He refuses to stop giving the team’s fans something to cheer about.
Even when the task is absurdly tall, as it was Tuesday night as the Sox fell to the first-place Twins 9-8 in 12 innings for their fourth consecutive loss, three of them by walk-off. The Sox blew leads in each of the final two innings and lost for only the sixth time in franchise history when collecting 20 or more hits.
Anderson tied a career high with four of those hits — including a go-ahead homer in the 11th — for his 20th multihit effort in his last 29 games. He raised his average to a major-league high .336, better than Nationals All-Star Anthony
Rendon’s .332. Anderson’s closest competitor for the AL batting title is the Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu at .329. Brewers slugger Christian Yelich is frozen at .329, his season over due to injury.
Don’t think Anderson isn’t keeping tabs on the races in progress.
“Yeah, I’m paying close attention to it,” he said before the game. “I want it, too. I want to win the batting title[s]. Why wouldn’t I?”
Only Frank Thomas (1997) and
Luke Appling (1936 and 1943) have won AL batting titles with the Sox.
The Sox took a two-run lead in the 12th on Ryan Cordell’s homer, but reliever Jose Ruiz crumbled in the bottom of the inning. The big blow: a two-run single by Marwin Gonzalez to tie it. The big bumble: Ruiz later hitting Ronald Torreyes with the bases loaded to end it.
The 300 club
Jose Abreu’s run-scoring single off Twins starter Martin Perez in the fifth inning gave the AL’s RBI leader a career-high 119 for the season. It also gave him 300 total bases, the fourth time he has reached that mark. Thomas did it a franchise-high seven times, Magglio Ordonez did it five times and
Abreu joins Paul Konerko at four.
Long way from home
Miguel Sano’s three-run homer off Ross Detwiler during the Twins’ five-run third inning traveled 482 feet into the third deck in left-center. Sano stood at the plate and watched his 30th long ball of the season fly while Detwiler doubled over in front of the mound and stared at the grass.
It wasn’t the longest homer hit at Target Field — a shot by Jim Thome went 490 feet in 2011 — but it did make the Twins the first major league team ever with five 30-HR hitters. Nelson Cruz, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver all beat Sano to 30.