Rookie no match for red hot Sox batter who club Yanks 14-7

NEW YORK—A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko and the White Sox were totally prepared to face overmatched Adam Warren in his major league debut.Seeing Dewayne Wise on the mound, now that was a surprise.Pierzynski homered twice, Konerko and Alexei Ramirez also connected and the White Sox pounded the Yankees so hard that New York needed an outfielder to pitch, bringing in Wise to finish up a 14-7 romp Friday night.

“I’ll be honest, I was very happy I didn’t get up against Dewayne,” said Pierzynski, who was left on deck. “He’s a good friend of mine. And no matter what you do, you’re going to hear about it.”

A night after the White Sox rallied to win at Yankee Stadium on Dayan Viciedo’s three-run homer in the ninth, they made it a short and sour outing for Warren. The 25-year-old newcomer didn’t make it through the third inning.By the end, the Yankees brought in Wise for his pro pitching debut — it was the first time since 1968 that a Yankees position player pitched in a home game. Throwing a 79 mph fastball, the crafty lefty was perfect, retiring Konerko on a routine fly and getting Alex Rios on a grounder to close a four-run ninth inning.

“I like Dewayne Wise a lot better when he’s making catches to preserve perfect games than when he’s on the mound,” Konerko kidded. “You can’t win, even if you hit it a mile.”

“But Rios got jammed. At least I got the bat out,” he said.

Wise was familiar to many Sox players. His outstanding grab in 2009 helped Mark Buehrle pitch a perfect game.Wise was the first position player to pitch for the Yankees since Nick Swisher in 2009 — Gene Michael was the last to do it for the Yankees at home 44 years ago. Wise wasn’t in the game when he was told he had two minutes to warm up.

“I was very nervous. I haven’t pitched since my sophomore year in high school,” he said.

“Of all the people on that team, I wish it had been A.J. that I faced. I would love to try to strike him out,” he said, laughing. “It was fun. I always said that someday I hoped I would get the chance to go in and pitch. I’m just glad I was able not to walk anybody and not give up any hits.”

White Sox manager Robin Ventura was impressed. He knows what Wise went through, having pitched an inning for the Dodgers.

“He beat me. I topped out at 72 [mph],” Ventura said.

Rookie Jose Quintana (3-1) fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, then hung in to give the White Sox their fourth straight win in a matchup of AL division leaders. Derek Jeter’s leadoff double was his 3,185th hit, moving him past Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. for 13th place on the career list. Curtis Granderson followed with his 22nd homer.It was 95 degrees at gametime, and the ball was flying. It was 6-all by the fourth and Pierzynski’s leadoff homer in the fifth against David Phelps (1-3) put the Sox ahead to stay.Pierzynski hit a pair of solo drives for his fifth multihomer game, and drove in three runs. Ramirez had four of the Sox 19 hits and Gordon Beckham had two of the team’s five doubles.Quintana has been quite a surprise for the White Sox, and the rookie began the night with a 1.25 ERA and a 16-inning scoreless streak. He had not allowed more than two runs in any of his six starts.The Yankees quickly tagged Quintana, and Andruw Jones’ two-out, two-run double made it 4-0 in the first. But the 23-year-old lefty from Colombia stayed cool, and was nicked only by Jayson Nix’s two-run double off Ramirez’s glove at shortstop in the fourth before leaving after six innings with a 10-6 lead.Warren was promoted from Triple-A this week after CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte went on the disabled list. A few hours before the game, Warren’s suitcase was in his locker and there wasn’t yet a nameplate over his stall.The Yankees tried to make him feel welcome. After the infielders whipped the ball around after Warren’s last warmup pitch, Jeter took a toss from Alex Rodriguez and trotted in for a final word with the new pitcher.Warren started out fine, striking out leadoff man Alejandro De Aza and drawing a cheer from friends and family members sitting in the second deck behind the Yankees dugout. Catcher Chris Stewart tossed the ball out of play as a keepsake — pretty soon, the White Sox started providing their own souvenirs. Pierzynski opened the second with his 13th homer. Beckham lined a two-run double and Kevin Youkilis had an RBI groundout that made it 4-all.Konerko hit his 14th homer on Warren’s first pitch in the third. After an RBI single by Pierzynski and a sharp single by Ramirez with one out, Warren was pulled. Phelps relieved his fellow rookie and got out of the inning, drawing a high-five from Warren.Rios had an RBI single in the sixth. Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the seventh and added an RBI double in the ninth.

NOTES—Konerko has homered 21 times against the Yankees, tying Joe Kuhel for the most by a White Sox player….Youkilis left in the fifth inning because of an upset stomach. He said he expects to be OK to play Saturday…..Pierzynski played his 1,000th game with the White Sox….Sox LHP Leyson Septimo pitched a perfect ninth in his MLB debut.

Maholm thworts Astros 4-0

Paul Maholm pitched into the ninth inning to earn his first win in seven weeks and the Cubs hit three homers in a 4-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday.Maholm (5-6) allowed four hits over 8 1-3 innings in his 200th major league start, earning his first win since he tossed seven shutout innings in a 1-0 victory over Atlanta on May 9. The left-hander was 0-4 with a 6.43 ERA in his previous eight outings.Brian Bixler started the Houston ninth with a base hit and Carlos Lee’s one-out double put runners on second and third before Carlos Marmol finished for his sixth save in eight chances.Marmol plunked Chris Snyder to load the bases with two down, but Chris Johnson lined to third to end the game.Jordan Schafer and Matt Downs had the only other hits for Houston against Maholm, who struck out six, walked one and hit a batter. Schafer’s third-inning single came on a fly ball that fell in front of left fielder Alfonso Soriano, and Matt Downs singled in the eighth.The start of the game was delayed 55 minutes by rain, but the damp conditions didn’t seem to bother the Cubs.Luis Valbuena hit a two-out solo homer off Bud Norris (5-5) in the second. Steve Clevenger belted a two-run shot in the fourth for his first major league homer, and Soriano connected in the sixth.Alll 15 of Soriano’s homers have come since May 15.Norris allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings. He came off the disabled list earlier in the day after being sidelines with a sprained left knee.Houston put the first two men on in the third, but Downs was thrown out at third with Norris attempting to bunt, dousing the rally. Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro ended the inning by roaming behind second to flag down Bixler’s grounder and throw him out.Bixler hit a long drive to center in the sixth, but David DeJesus leaped into the ivy to pull it down. The Cubs nearly doubled off Norris, who had walked, but Castro’s relay throw was wild past first, allowing Norris to move to third.

NOTES—Jed Lowrie was out of the lineup to rest following the Astros’ difficult 7-3 loss to the Padres on Thursday night, but hit in the eighth. 2B Jose Altuve sat out a fifth straight game (right hamstring). …Ryan Dempster, on the DL with a lat injury, played catch and hopes to throw off the mound sometime this weekend. … Astros 1B Carlos Lee got hit in the groin area by a hard-hopper off the bat of Anthony Rizzo in the eigth but was able to regroup and stay in the game.

Bulls take Kentucky’s Teague at #29, no trades.

Chicago Bulls Logo - Red bull with script above head

The Bulls selected point guard Marquis Teague with the 29th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft on Thursday night.They in effect drafted a backup point guard.Teague, a 6-2, 180-pounder who played one season at Kentucky, averaged 10 points and 4.8 assists in 32.6 minutes per game as a freshman.With Derrick Rose recovering from a torn ACL, finding another guard who will potentially be able to contribute as a rookie became a priority for General Manager Gar Forman and his staff. Rose underwent surgery on May 12 and won’t likely return until January at the earliest.

Though Teague played just one season collegiately, he comes to the NBA as a winner. He started all 40 of Kentucky’s games as the Wildcats went 38-2 en route to the 2012 NCAA National Championship, making him the fourth player on the Bulls’ roster to have won a title in college (Carlos Boozer, Richard Hamilton and Joakim Noah).

The Bulls reportedly were set to take Tyshawn Taylor with this pick, but probably fell on the floor when Teague was still available. They’ve clearly needed a backup point guard for Derrick Rose and Teague is outstanding value at this point of the first round.

Sox take advantage of Rapada error,Viciedo homer to steal one from Yanks.

NEW YORK—Addison Reed knew Yankee Stadium’s reputation for swallowing up easy flys for home runs. He also knew Derek Jeter had a knack for coming through in the clutch.So when Jeter sent a sharp liner to right field, the White Sox closer hoped the ball would stay in the park and that Alex Rios would have space to make the catch. Rios did, with no room to spare. Rios banged into the wall as he made the catch, only 314 feet from home, to end the Chicago White Sox’s 4-3 come-from-behind victory against the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

“When it landed in his glove,” Reed said, “I was a happy man.”

Dayan Viciedo gave the White Sox a 4-3 lead with a three-run homer off David Robertson in the ninth inning after a throwing error, and Reed held on for the AL Central-leading White Sox’s sixth win in eight games.Viciedo’s home run was set up by reliever Clay Rapada’s wild toss to second base on a potential double-play ball.

“It’s a tough way to lose a game, but it’s a physical error and it’s going to happen and you’ve just got to put it behind you,” manager Joe Girardi said.

With closer Rafael Soriano not available after earning saves in four of the previous five games, the Yankees saw their five-game winning streak end.Other than Alejandro De Aza, who had a home run among his four hits, the White Sox couldn’t muster much against the Yankees’ De facto ace Ivan Nova into the eighth. Minus Soriano, Chicago improved to 22-14 on the road, third best in the American League.Mark Teixeira homered off New Jersey-born Hector Santiago (2-1) with two outs in the eighth to make it 3-1.Rios led off the ninth with a single against Cody Eppley, and Rapada entered. A.J. Pierzynski bunted back to the mound and Rapada’s poor throw put runners at first and third. Robertson (0-2) relieved and Viciedo drove a 1-0 pitch into the left-field stands.

“I would definitely say it’s a little tougher,” Robertson said of coming in with runners on base rather than starting an inning.You’ve got a clean inning, you’ve got an opportunity to maybe get an out and allow a walk or something like that or even give up a base hit and still find your way out of it because you’ve finally got your rhythm on the mound,” he said.

Reed gave up a leadoff single to Dewayne Wise in the New York ninth. Eric Chavez then hit a fly to left and Wise was caught way off first base, but Viciedo’s throw to first was offline for a possible double play. After pinch-hitter Andruw Jones struck out looking, Jeter flied out and Reed had his 11th save.

“I looked at the guys and said I know he’s going to hit one to right,” Jeter’s former teammate and White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “I don’t like seeing him too much.”

Jeter had singled in the seventh to tie fellow shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. for 13th place on the career list with 3,184.De Aza hit his home run off the facing of the suite level in right field for the game’s first run with two outs in the fifth. That was the lone run against Nova, who gave his manager reason to be hopeful about the Yankees’ depleted rotation with an ace-like outing.The Yankees took the lead right back against rookie Dylan Axelrod in the bottom half when UIC Alum Curtis Granderson singled with two outs and Alex Rodriguez followed with a drive to left-center. De Aza made a long run to track down the ball, but it hit off his glove as he neared the wall, falling for an RBI double.Robinson Cano then gave the Yankees the lead with a double to right-center.A day after receiving a double whammy of devastating injuries to the rotation, Girardi said he’s not going to give the remaining three starters any sort of pep talk — unless he has to. In the meantime, CC Sabathia is on the disabled list with a groin strain and Andy Pettitte is out with a broken lower left leg.Nova gave up six hits, three walks and a wild pitch, leaving with De Aza on second and one out in the eighth. The crowd of 44,041 gave him a loud ovation when he strolled off the field.Boone Logan relieved and got Adam Dunn to fly out, advancing De Aza to third. Eppley relieved and struck out Paul Konerko with a knee-buckling breaking pitch.Axelrod was making his third start in place of the injured Phil Humber and had his longest outing. He allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings. It was his first outing in the Bronx.

“I was focused and tried to stare at A.J.’s glove,” said Axelrod on how he fought off nervousness. “I think I did a pretty good job that.”

Despite wearing a different uniform, Kevin Youkilis was booed as if he still played for Boston. Acquired over the weekend, he went 0 for 4 for the White Sox.

NOTES—The White Sox take infield practice after BP before the first game of every series, one of the changes made by Ventura this year. On Thursday, however, they took a unique approach to the drills — they didn’t use a ball. The players mimed catching the ball and whipping it around the infield, even turning double plays. Several players left the field with a smile…..The Yankees purchased the contract of RHP Adam Warren from Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre and he’ll start Friday in place of Sabathia….The White Sox purchased the contract of left-hander Leyson Septimo from Triple-A Charlotte and have designated reliever Will Ohman for assignment.

ROUT!!! Mets 17-Cubs 1 in series finale.

For most of the season, the New York Mets have had a tough time getting more than one hitter going at the same time. On Wednesday, they had four with big games.Daniel Murphy homered twice, Scott Hairston hit a grand slam and David Wright drove in five runs to lead the Mets to a 17-1 rout of the Cubs.Ike Davis had a three-run homer and an RBI double as he combined with Murphy, Hairston and Wright to drive in all 17 runs — with each having at least four RBI — to help the Mets snap a four-game losing streak.The Mets had their highest scoring total since they had 18 at Wrigley Field on Sept. 5, 2010. It was also the most runs the Cubs have allowed since that game.Murphy hadn’t homered since last July 16 but went deep in consecutive innings to notch his first career multihomer game. His first homer was a two-out, two-run shot in the fourth, breaking open a 2-1 game.Davis’ four RBI matched his career high and Hairston had his second career grand slam.One night after having a 15-game hitting streak snapped, Wright had a sacrifice fly, two-run double and two-run single for his ninth career game of at least five RBI.The onslaught made for an easy afternoon for Mets starter Jonathon Niese (6-3), who struck out six and held the Cubs to one run over seven innings.Niese improved to 4-0 with a 1.89 ERA in day games this season. In June, he’s gone 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA after a poor May.The Mets’ first seven hits went for extra bases, six of them off Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija (5-7). Samardzija also walked four batters and gave up a career-high nine runs in 4 1/3 innings.He dropped to 0-4 with an 11.29 ERA over his last four starts after going 3-2 with a 2.26 ERA in eight starts from April 24 to June 4.

“I’d be lying if I weren’t concerned a little bit with the numbers, and the execution of pitches obviously hasn’t been too good for four or five starts now,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.

Casey Coleman fared no better in relief, allowing seven runs in 1 2/3 innings.The game was tied 1-all through three before New York got 15 runs in the middle innings.One night after stranding 12 runners in a 5-3 loss to the Cubs, New York left just four runners on base despite getting 16 hits and drawing seven walks. The ups and downs don’t bother Collins.

NOTES—Before the game, the Cubs designated RHP Randy Wells for assignment and recalled RHP Rafael Dolis from Triple-A Iowa. Wells has struggled with his control, walking 24 in 28 2-3 innings this season…..The Cubs walked Niese twice and have issued eight free passes to pitchers this season, second-most in the majors to Atlanta’s 10….This was not the Mets most one-sided win over the Cubs. In 1964,the Mets beat the Cubs 19-1 at Wrigley Field. In 1975,the Cubs lost to Pittsburgh 22-0 at Wrigley as Rennie Stennett went 7-7.

Sox continue to dominate Twins at Target Field.

MINNEAPOLIS—Chris Sale produced his usual strong pitching performance to help the White Sox win their fifth straight series against the Minnesota Twins.There were bonuses for the White Sox on this steamy afternoon, too. Sale didn’t have to work very hard, never facing more than four batters in any inning, and the lagging lineup snapped to life with a season-high 21 hits.Sale’s seven smooth innings were supported by Adam Dunn’s three-run homer, and the White Sox beat the Twins 12-5 Wednesday.

“Any time you go out there and get that kind of run support it kind of calms you down a little bit,” said Sale, the American League’s earned run average leader.

The White Sox matched their season high with a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL Central, ahead of Cleveland.Sale (9-2) struck out five and walked one with six hits and two runs allowed. The Twins talked before the game about trying to disrupt his rhythm and make him sweat on a day when the temperature moved toward the 90s, but they were unsuccessful.

“It’s hard to keep saying the same things over and over again, but he’s just a mature kid,” Robin Ventura said.

Dunn had three hits and four RBIs, including his 24th home run of the season, and recently-acquired Kevin Youkilis went 3 for 4 and drove in two runs. Alex Rios also had three hits and a homer.

“He’s going to help us in so many ways,” Rios said of Youkilis, who fouled off three pitches before his single right before Dunn went deep.

The third, fourth and fifth hitters were 10 for 15 with eight RBIs, mostly against Twins starter Nick Blackburn (4-5). The right-hander watched his ERA balloon to 7.74 after five rough innings for the Twins, giving up nine hits and six runs.

“We haven’t been swinging the bats well the last couple weeks so hopefully today it gets everybody’s confidence back up and we start rolling again,” Dunn said.

Ventura gave regulars Paul Konerko, Gordon Beckham and Dayan Viciedo a rest, but an offense that managed only 13 runs over the previous five games finally had a breakout game. Dunn ended a 0-for-24 skid with his homer, and the White Sox posted a double-digit score for the first time in 16 games. Sale pitched that one, too, June 9 against Houston.

“He goes straight to what he has to do, and does it with power. He’s unbelievable,” Rios said.

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, now 7 for 73 against left-handers this season with 22 strikeouts, talked his way into the lineup by telling manager Ron Gardenhire before the game he wanted “a piece of this kid,” but a seventh-inning single was the only dent he put on yet another stellar performance by the lanky left-hander Sale with the whipsaw, sidearm delivery.Brian Dozier homered and Ben Revere tacked on a sacrifice fly, but that was the only damage done against the 23-year-old 2010 first-round draft pick. In seven starts on the road this season, Sale is 5-0 with a 2.91 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings. Those sure look like All-Star statistics. The teams are revealed Sunday.

“It’s something that you think about, but you try not to pay attention to it. My focus is on this team and what I’m doing here. I’m just trying to keep the same approach I’ve had all year,” Sale said.

NOTES—Damon Mastroianni hit his first career home run, a two-run shot against Will Ohman in the eighth, for the Twins. Ohman was designated for assignment after the game. He hit two batters in the ninth and gave up another run. … The Twins have lost eight of their last 10 games against the White Sox at home. … The White Sox start a four-game series in New York on Thursday, with RHP Dylan Axelrod (0-1, 5.54 ERA) making his third start this season against Yankees RHP Ivan Nova (9-2, 4.25). … The Twins are off on Thursday before four games in three days here against Kansas City. LHP Brian Duensing (1-3, 3.82) pitches on Friday, with RHP Luis Mendoza (2-4, 4.95) taking the mound for the Royals.

Floyd, Sox solves Twins 3-2

MINNEAPOLIS—Gavin Floyd finally solved the Minnesota Twins with nine strikeouts in seven shutout innings and Alex Rios homered to help the White Sox to a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night. Floyd (6-7) didn’t walk a batter and increased his scoreless streak to 13 1-3 innings while beating the Twins for just the fifth time in 17 career starts. Rios added a single and a stolen base to go with his two-run homer and Alexei Ramirez had two hits and an RBI for the first-place Sox. White Sox closer Addison Reed gave up a two-run single to Jamey Carroll in a shaky ninth inning, but got Denard Span to ground out to pick up his 10th save in 11 chances. Twins starter Liam Hendriks (0-5) yielded three runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings, losing an unlikely pitching duel between two struggling right-handers. Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, Trevor Plouffe and Ben Revere each struck out twice for the last-place Twins, who are trying to make up some ground on the White Sox in the mediocre AL Central. Minnesota hasn’t been kind to Floyd over the years. The right-hander entered with a 4-11 record and a 6.29 ERA in his career against the Twins, including a 2-6 mark and a 5.05 ERA in Minnesota. Five of the Twins’ nine hitters carried career averages of .375 or better against Floyd into the game and Mauer had reached base in 15 straight plate appearances against him. But Floyd was having all sorts of problems against most everyone this season. In his six starts prior to 6 1-3 scoreless innings against the Cubs, Floyd was tagged for 35 earned runs and 11 homers.It looked to be more of the same when Denard Span led off the first inning with a double off the wall in left-center field, but Floyd left him stranded at third base after striking out Mauer and getting Willingham to pop out to center field. He fanned Mauer again in the third inning and breezed the rest of the way, retiring nine straight at one point before giving up back-to-back singles to Mauer and Willingham in the sixth. No problem this time for Floyd, who struck out Justin Morneau and got Plouffe to pop out to left field to end the threat. It’s the first time Floyd has not given up a run in consecutive starts since July 2010. Hendriks was nearly as effective, which was almost as surprising. The Australian was sent down to Triple-A after allowing 18 earned runs in his first four starts and was underwhelming in his two previous outings since being recalled.He made one real mistake on Tuesday, a hanging slider that Rios put into the second deck in left field for a 2-0 White Sox lead in the fourth.

NOTES—White Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis went 1 for 4 in his second game since being acquired from the Red Sox. He said he’s getting a little more used to life in another organization after the hectic relocation. “It’s not my team anymore,” he said of the Red Sox. “It’s better to be in first place rather than on the bottom.” … Twins LHP Tyler Robertson made an impressive major league debut in the eighth, striking out Alejandro De Aza, Youkilis and Adam Dunn, who whiffed twice in the game to run his total to 121 this season. … The White Sox head to Yankee Stadium to open a series on Thursday, and Youkilis is ready for some abuse from the fans. “I’ll take all the yelling and screaming at for the whole team,” he said with a chuckle. “Maybe they won’t hate me as much as they used to.” … RHP Nick Blackburn (4-4, 7.45 ERA) will start for the Twins on Wednesday against Chris Sale (8-2, 2.24 ERA). Sale is 5-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his last seven starts.

Rizzo drives in winning run in Cub debut.

Anthony Rizzo had two hits and drove in the go-ahead run in his first game with the Cubs, who rallied for a 5-3 victory over the sliding New York Mets on Tuesday night.Rizzo’s two-out double drove in Steve Clevenger in the fourth, making it 4-3 and sending the Mets to their fourth straight loss – matching a season high. Rizzo was called up earlier in the day for his highly anticipated Cubs debut after posting big numbers for Triple-A Iowa.Rizzo reached on an infield single in the first when his smash eluded shortstop Ruben Tejada, a play that was originally scored an error. He also grounded out to first in the third, moving up two runners in the process and sparking a three-run rally.

Liriano out pitches Peavy, Twins beat Sox 4-1 in Youkilis’s debut.

MINNEAPOLIS—Francisco Liriano spoiled Kevin Youkilis’ first game with the White Sox, throwing a season-high seven innings to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 4-1 victory over the Sox on Monday night.Making his first start against the rival White Sox since his no-hitter at U.S.Cellular Field nearly 14 months ago, Liriano (2-7) allowed just three singles, two walks and a double. The left-hander struck out five, winning for the first time this month while holding the White Sox without a run until Alexei Ramirez’s sacrifice fly in the seventh.Jared Burton notched the save for the second straight game for the Twins, filling in for injured closer Matt Capps.Youkilis singled in the eighth inning for his first hit as the new third baseman, acquired in a trade with Boston on Sunday, but that was too little too late for Jake Peavy (6-4), who fell to 0-3 in his five June starts.Adam Dunn, well on his way toward breaking the single-season strikeout record of 223, set by Mark Reynolds with Arizona in 2009, whiffed three times against Liriano and once more against Glen Perkins to raise his total for the year to 119.Liriano was so lost on the mound in his first six starts this season the pitching-thin Twins had no choice but to bump him to the bullpen, where he still struggled until their staff became so depleted they had no alternative but to put him back in the rotation.He responded with six shutout innings that day against Oakland, and despite two losses and two no-decisions since then his renaissance features a 2.41 ERA with 40 strikeouts and only 20 hits and one home run allowed in 37 1-3 innings.Liriano walked Paul Konerko with two outs in the fourth, and Alex Rios followed with a sharp single. But he struck out A.J. Pierzynski, the guy the Twins traded to get him and two others from San Francisco in 2003, on a fastball diving toward the dirt in the mid-90s-mph range.Not until the seventh did Liriano truly find trouble. Rios led off with a double and took third on a wild pitch. Pierzynski hit a hard comebacker that Liriano managed to stop with his shoe and freeze Rios while throwing to first for the out. But he had two strikes on Dayan Viciedo before throwing three straight balls for a walk, the last of which bounced in the dirt and hit catcher Drew Butera below the waist. He was doubled over in pain for a bit before retaking his place behind the plate.Then came Ramirez, who singled twice earlier and hit one deep enough to right field that Rios could jog home.Peavy struck out seven and walked one in six innings, but he gave up 10 hits and could have allowed a lot more than the three runs the Twins scored over the first two frames.In the first inning, Denard Span hit the first of his two doubles and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joe Mauer, putting Minnesota in front. In the second, a throwing error by Rios from right field let one run score. Jamey Carroll drove in the next one with a single.Mauer had three hits, and Ben Revere topped him with his second four-hit performance in the last four games. Trevor Plouffe tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, but the Twins were fortunate their pitching was so tough. They left 13 men on base.

NOTES—Dunn has three four-strikeout games this year. He has avoided fanning only four times in his 71 starts this season. … This was Liriano’s longest appearance since he finished seven innings in beating the Yankees here last Aug. 20.

Cubs beat Mets, Travis Wood solid again.

Joe Mather homered and Travis Wood outpitched Johan Santana, leading the Cubs to a 6-1 victory over the New York Mets on Monday night to snap a four-game skid.Wood (2-3) struck out six and scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings to earn his second straight victory. The 25-year-old lefty has given up just eight runs in 31 2-3 innings this month. Four of those five starts came against former Cy Young winners.The Cubs scored four unearned runs in the seventh inning with help from three Mets errors, including three-base miscues by third baseman David Wright and right fielder Lucas Duda.Santana (5-4), a two-time Cy Young winner, gave up five hits and two runs over six innings. He struck out six and walked three.Mather hit a two-run shot over the left-center field wall off Santana after a two-out walk to Geovany Soto.The Cubs threatened to add on in the sixth with runners on second and third and one out, but Santana struck out Soto looking, and after walking Mather, got Luis Valbuena to ground out to strand three.Wright singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Ike Davis homered with two outs in the ninth for the Mets.The Wrigley Field wind played a big role in a four-run seventh as a pair of popups each turned into three-base errors.Pinch-hitter Adrian Cardenas led off with a high pop in front of home plate. Catcher Mike Nickeas yielded to Wright, who fumbled the ball toward the backstop. Two batters later, Darwin Barney’s bloop to right field was dropped and booted away by a running Lucas Duda.It got even uglier when Ronny Cedeno misplayed Starlin Castro’s grounder with the infield in, allowing Barney to score.Mets manager Terry Collins had expressed concern about his team’s energy when talking with reporters before the game. The team didn’t get into Chicago until 4 a.m. Monday morning after losing two of three to the Yankees in an exhausting weekend series.New York mustered six hits and didn’t score until Davis’ home run off of James Russell with two outs in the ninth.Though they didn’t need it Monday, help is on the way for a scuffling Cubs offense, which had scored the fourth fewest runs in the majors coming into play Monday.Manager Dale Sveum confirmed that highly-touted prospect Anthony Rizzo would be promoted on Tuesday. The 22-year-old left-handed first baseman is hitting .345 with 23 homers and 62 RBIs in 69 games at Triple-A Iowa.

NOTES—Final interleague count: AL 142, NL 110….The Mets designated OF Vinny Rottino for assignment and selected the contract of LHP Justin Hampson from Triple-A Buffalo. Hampson, 32, had not pitched in the majors since Sept. 28, 2008, with San Diego. He tossed a scoreless eighth.. Collins said RHP Bobby Parnell will be the team’s closer with Frank Francisco (left oblique strain) on the 15-day DL.. OF Jason Bay (concussion) rode a stationary bike on Monday. He is scheduled to begin baseball activities by the weekend according to Collins.. Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster (right lat tightness) threw off of flat ground Monday and it “went well,” according to Sveum. Dempster is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday, but Sveum said a July 6 return in New York is more likely.. RHP Dillon Gee (5-5, 4.27 ERA) will take the hill for the Mets in the middle game of the series on Tuesday against RHP Randy Wells (1-2, 4.91).