Jose Berríos pitched into the eighth inning to win his second straight start, Mitch Garver hit a go-ahead double and the Twins rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 Monday night.
Seeking their first AL Central title since 2010, the Twins opened a five-game lead over second-place Cleveland. At 92-58 with 12 games left, Minnesota is assured of its best record since finishing 94-68 in 2010.
Given an extra day of rest between starts, Berríos (13-8) allowed two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. He was rewarded with a standing ovation when he was removed.
Tyler Duffey finished the eighth, and Sergio Romo allowed Eloy Jiménez’s homer leading off the ninth before getting an out. Taylor Rogers needed just eight pitches to finish a six-hitter for his 27th save in 33 chances.
José Abreu’s sacrifice fly in the first and James McCann’s homer in the second gave Chicago a 2-0 lead, but the Twins tied the score in the bottom half on Jorge Polanco’s sacrifice fly and Nelson Cruz’s RBI single.
After Garver put the Twins ahead for good, Luis Arraez hit a cue shot off the end of his bat that curved past third baseman Yoán Moncada for a two-run single in the sixth.
