ST. LOUIS—Lance Lynn struck out a career-high 12 to stay tied for the major league lead in wins and Carlos Beltran hit his NL-best 19th home run Wednesday night, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the White Sox that ended an eight-game road winning streak.Paul Konerko grounded into a game-ending double play with runners on first and third against Jason Motte.Beltran homered in the third inning off Jake Peavy (6-2) and had three of the four hits for the Cardinals, who have scored only seven runs in the last five games and totaled a single run for the third straight game. They’ve won just five of 14. Lynn (10-2) allowed three hits in 7 1/3 innings and joined Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey as the only 10-game winners in the majors. Dickey threw a one-hitter at Tampa Bay earlier in the night. The 25-year-old Cardinals right-hander, who replaced injured Chris Carpenter in the rotation and is in his first full big league season, topped his previous career best of 11 strikeouts while going six innings during his last start at Houston.Beltran has been a force batting second, hitting 11 homers from that spot in 20 starts compared with seven long balls at cleanup in 32 games. All but five of his homers have come batting left-handed. Peavy worked seven innings and gave up four hits with six strikeouts and two walks in the hard-luck loss. He had entered an American League-best 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA on the road and had won six in a row away from home with a 1.44 ERA overall dating to Aug. 7, 2011. Marc Rzepczynski got pinch-hitter Adam Dunn to ground sharply into a double play to end the eighth and Motte finished for his 12th save in 15 chances. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny went right back to Rzepczynski, a night after Dunn homered in the eighth inning to help the White Sox pull away for a 6-1 victory.Dunn, a pregame lineup scratch due to a slightly sprained ankle, has grounded into just two double plays.Matheny gave Lynn a vote of confidence when he let him bat with two outs and none on in the seventh. Lynn struck out Alexei Ramirez for the third time to open the eighth, then was lifted after Orlando Hudson singled up the middle.Lynn’s strongest save came in the fifth when Alex Rios was stranded at third after a leadoff triple. Lynn struck out three of the next four, fanning Peavy after a two-out intentional walk to Hudson. The Cardinals had just three at-bats with runners in scoring position against Peavy, whose biggest out was striking out David Freese after consecutive two-out walks to Matt Holliday and Allen Craig in the third.

NOTES—Cardinals 2B-OF Skip Schumaker (strained right hamstring) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis and could return from the disabled list on time. … Peavy has allowed seven homers in his last eight starts after giving up just one in his first five outings. … Peavy has been getting an average of 6.1 runs of support per nine innings.

It was another difficult day during a frustrating season for the Cubs. Only this time, it had a happy ending. Darwin Barney had three RBI and the Cubs used shortstop Jhonny Peralta’s two throwing errors in the eighth inning to push across the winning run in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

“It’s just nice to get the breaks,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said, “and then a lot of times you’ll get errors or miscues by the way you run the bases.”

With two outs and two on, Tony Campana hit a grounder to Peralta, whose throw pulled Ramon Santiago off the bag at second. Starlin Castro then hit another grounder to Peralta and the veteran infielder threw wide of first, allowing Barney to scamper home.

“It’s kind of hard,” said Peralta, who was reinstated from the paternity list before the game. “When that situation happens, obviously I don’t feel good about what happened. I tried to make it the best I could do.”

Tigers reliever Phil Coke (1-3) was ready when reporters entered the visiting clubhouse, showing a replay of Castro’s ball that showed Prince Fielder kept his foot on the base when he pulled in Peralta’s second errant throw.

“I knew for a fact the guy was out at first base, because there’s no way that his body came off the bag with the ball not in his glove,” Coke said. “There’s no way. He’s pushing off of the bag to get to the ball.”

Carlos Marmol (1-2) got the last two outs of the eighth for the victory and Shawn Camp finished for his first save as the Cubs snapped a seven-game losing streak against Detroit in their first matchup since the Tigers swept a three-game series at Comerica Park from June 23-25, 2009.Barney had a run-scoring groundout and a clutch two-run double, helping the Cubs build a 3-0 lead hours after they fired hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. James Rowson, the organization’s minor league hitting coordinator, was promoted to replace Jaramillo on an interim basis.

“It’s unfortunate,” Barney said. “You never like to see somebody go, but we want to move forward. We’ve got to focus on trying to win ballgames, and we’re going to miss Rudy.”

Longtime manager Jim Leyland and the Tigers returned to Wrigley Field for the first time since 2006 and found a receptive audience at the cozy neighborhood ballpark. There were dueling chants of “Let’s go Tigers” and “Let’s go Cubbies” among the crowd of 41,164, and Detroit jerseys and T-shirts were common in the stands and concourses.Fielder also played his first game on the North Side since he signed with the Tigers over the winter. The big first baseman spent his first seven major league seasons with Milwaukee and was reunited Tuesday with Sveum, who agreed to become the Cubs’ manager in November after a six-year run on the Brewers’ coaching staff.

“He’s one of my favorite, if not my favorite guy I’ve ever coached,” Sveum said.

With the wind blowing in on an unseasonably cool night, Fielder and fellow Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera each received a Wrigley refresher course when their long fly balls in the sixth each died in the outfield. Paul Maholm grinned as he walked off the mound following Fielder’s inning-ending drive, but Detroit was just warming up at the plate.

“That’s Wrigley Field,” Leyland said. “Some days it blows out, some days it blows in. Thursday afternoon it could be blowing out. That’s part of the game.”

The Tigers put the first two batters on in the seventh, chasing Maholm from the game. With one out and the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Ramon Santiago hit an RBI single off Casey Coleman and Austin Jackson singled in a pair to tie it at 3. Jackson’s clutch hit was his second in as many games. He also hit a tying two-run double off Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning of Detroit’s 7-6 victory at Cincinnati on Sunday. Maholm allowed two runs and six hits, struck out seven and walked one. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in his past six starts. The Cubs began the day ranked No. 27 in the majors with a .304 on-base percentage. The Cubs also were ranked 27th with 222 runs scored and No. 19 with a .247 team batting average, leading to Jaramillo’s dismissal. “It’s not based on results,” president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. “We’re trying to get a new voice with a new message. We have a certain hitting philosophy we believe in, and we have a lot of growth that awaits us as an organization to try to get there.”

NOTES—The Tigers placed reliever Octavio Dotel on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow and recalled right-hander Luke Putkonen from Triple-A Toledo. The DL stint is retroactive to June 3…..Two concerts(Pink Floyd0 during the Cubs’ road trip did quite a number on the surface at Wrigley Field. There was a new section of grass that stretched from center to right field, and a damaged pathway that cut across the middle of the outfield….Geovany Soto (left knee surgery) and Welington Castillo (sprained right knee ligament) are both out on minor league rehab assignments. “This weekend we’ll evaluate, probably Thursday, we’ll evaluate and see where they’re at, but I know they’re both doing pretty well,” Sveum said….Peralta and his wife, Molly, welcomed twin girls Gabriela Rosa and Laina Katherine on Saturday.

ST. LOUIS—After dropping two of three to the Houston Astros, Paul Konerko said the White Sox were looking to get back on track as quickly as possible Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. Konerko had three hits to lift his major-league best average to .373, and teammates A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Dunn homered to lead the White Sox to a 6-1 win. Konerko said it was a big win for his team.

“We’ve had already about six or seven of those moments where we’re doing well and then we had a hiccup,” Konerko said. “You just know you have to bounce back if you want to stay in it. That was tonight.”

The Sox have won eight straight road games and is a major league-best 17-6 since May 17. Rookie left-hander Jose Quintana (2-1) allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings to get the win and Orlando Hudson hit a two-run triple for.Quintana (2-1), making his fifth start, allowed a career-high 10 hits but did not issue a walk and was helped out by three double plays.

“That’s actually what I was looking for,” Quintana said through an interpreter. “The double plays were going to get me out of the inning and I was able to get them.”

White Sox manager Robin Ventura said that Quintana, who is filling in for the injured John Danks, has earned at least one more start.

“He’s getting it again,” Ventura said. “He’s proven he can pitch up here. When he goes out there and does what he’s doing right now, he’s making a strong case for staying around.”

The Cardinals are moving in the opposite direction, dropping three of their past four to fall back to .500 (31-31).

“We’re going through a spot right now and you could see the contrast,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “You could see one team with a lot of confidence and one team on the other side with not so much. We’ve got to figure out how to get it back.”

Matt Holliday went 2 for 4 with a run scored for St. Louis. Allen Craig drove in the Cardinals’ run with an RBI single in the sixth. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright (5-7) went seven innings and five hits. He gave up two runs while striking out seven and walking two. Konerko ignited the only rally off Wainwright with a leadoff single to start the second inning. He was erased by Alex Rios’ fielder’s choice, but Pierzynski kept the inning going with a single to center. Hudson then drove in Rios and Pierzynski with a two-out triple to right center that glanced off right fielder Carlos Beltran’s glove.

“I just didn’t quite make the pitches I wanted to to Hudson, and I made a mistake to Konerko,” Wainwright said. “Other than that, I was pretty sharp.”

The White Sox scored four runs in the eighth off relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Mitchell Boggs. Rzepczynski gave up an RBI single to Gordon Beckham, who was thrown out trying to advance to second, and Dunn’s 436-foot homer over the Cardinals’ bullpen in right field to make it 4-1. Boggs relieved Rzepczynski and gave up a single to Konerko and a 408-foot line shot into the stands in right by Pierzynski.

NOTES—The matchup of Matheny and Ventura marked the first meeting of rookie managers in a Cardinals game since interim manager Mike Jorgensen and first-year San Diego skipper Bruce Bochy squared off in 1995…..Prior to his triple, Hudson was hitting just .182 (10 for 55) since joining the White Sox on May 22. ….Holliday returned to the lineup after sitting out two games with back spasms…..Dunn also fanned twice, giving him a major league-leading 98 strikeouts…..The Cardinals’ Rafael Furcal is hitless on the homestand (0 for 15).

Justin Maxwell, Jose Altuve, J.D.Martinez and Brett Wallace all homered to lead the Houston Astros to an 11-9 win over the White Sox on Sunday.Maxwell’s two-run shot in the fifth put the Astros ahead 4-3. He also singled, walked and scored two runs. His homer was estimated at 461 feet, curling just inside the left-field foul pole into the second deck.Altuve hit a two-run shot in the eighth to cap the Astros’ offense. Altuve drove in three runs and stole home on the back end of a double steal in the sixth.Martinez homered on first pitch of the second, and Wallace added a solo shot in a five-run sixth for Houston that broke the game open.
Adam Dunn hit his 20th homer of the season and Paul Konerko added his 12th for the White Sox.Lucas Harrell (6-4) tied a career high by going 7 1-3 innings, winning his first start against his former team. He gave up five runs and six hits and struck out five.Brett Myers got the last outs for his 15th save.White Sox starter Phil Humber (2-4), gave up the first three Houston homers, matching his career worst. He gave up six runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings and struck out nine.

MINNEAPOLIS—Ryan Dempster further raised his trade value with eight shutout innings, pitching the Cubs past the Minnesota Twins 8-2 on Sunday to prevent another sweep against them.After an 18-start winless streak dating to last August 11, Dempster (2-3) won his second game this week, another gem for this Cubs team that brought the worst record in the majors into the afternoon. He scattered four singles, walked one, hit a batter and struck out six, three by Joe Mauer, to help the Cubs win for only the fifth time in their last 25 games.Dempster lowered his ERA to 2.31, and the Twins lost for just the third time in 12 games.Alfonso Soriano, who homered three times in the first two games of the series, hit another ball hard, a two-out double in the first inning that drove in the first run against Francisco Liriano (1-7). Left fielder Josh Willingham had trouble tracking the ball, turning back and forth in the bright sun until Soriano’s drive glanced off his glove.Soriano batted .316 with 12 RBIs and eight runs on this 10-game trip, and the Cubs won against a left-handed starter for only the third time in 16 tries this year. David DeJesus drove in three runs, and Reed Johnson and Starlin Castro scored three times each.Liriano retired 13 of the next 14 batters after that to lock with Dempster in a legitimate duel of likely-to-be-dealt-soon pitchers until faltering in the sixth and failing to complete that inning.Like Dempster, Liriano is in the final year of his contract for a non-contending team, though his erratic performance earlier this season and last will make it harder for the Twins to gain quality prospects in return.The 35-year-old Dempster, however, has been the rock of the rotation for the reeling Cubs. He has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his 11 starts and finished six or more innings 10 times.Dempster threw 38 of his first 47 pitches for strikes and dug deep when he did find trouble against a Twins team batting .302 with runners in scoring position since May 16 entering Sunday. Justin Morneau grounded out with two runners on to end the first. Mauer struck out to finish the third with a man on third. Ben Revere bounced out to end the fifth with two on base.After two strong starts in his return to the rotation, Liriano regressed a bit but was still in fine form for most of his appearance. He gave up four hits, four runs and three walks in 5 1-3 innings to leave with a 4-0 deficit, but he struck out six and could’ve matched Dempster’s scoreless streak had a ball or two bounced another way.The leadoff walk to Johnson, who started the game with a single, cost him badly in the sixth. Castro followed with a sharp double, DeJesus drove in a run with a groundout and Joe Mather’s RBI double prompted the pitching change by Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.Ryan Doumit’s sacrifice fly against Cubs closer James Russell in a non-save situation in the ninth finally put the Twins on the board, and Jamey Carroll tacked on an RBI double.

NOTES—This was the Cubs first Inter-League win this season after losing their first five….Neither team plays Monday. The Cubs host Detroit Tuesday, with Paul Maholm (4-5, 5.10 ERA) pitching against RH Max Scherzer (5-4, 5.88) of the Tigers. The Twins stay home and play Philadelphia, sending RH Nick Blackburn (2-4, 7.75) to the mound against Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (2-5, 4.44). … The Twins need another starter in six days, and Gardenhire said RH Liam Hendriks could be called up from Triple-A Rochester. Hendriks, who started the season in the rotation before being sent down in May, struck out 10 in 8 2-3 shutout innings for the Red Wings Saturday. … Cubs manager Dale Sveum on the team’s pace to pass the franchise record for most losses in a season, 103 in 1962 and 1966: “You have to change the pace. … You laugh about it, but it’s definitely there.”

SALT LAKE CITY—This is as bad as is gets,or has ever been for the Rush. A first quarter disaster(understatement) evolved into a 40-point defeat for the Rush (7-5) as the Utah Blaze (8-5) put things on cruise control on way to a 68-28 rout at the EnergySolutions Arena Saturday night. The 40-point loss is the worst defeat for the Rush in their eleven year history.

Winning the coin toss for the first time in over a month, the Rush attempted an unsuccessful onside kick that his the side wall,and turned into seven quick points for the Blaze when Tommy Grady found Aaron Lesue for a 14-yard score. Slow out of the gate offensively, Russ Michna (16-29, 161 yards, 2 TD) couldn’t lead the Rush to points until the fourth offensive possession, mainly because the Utah defense forced back-to-back turnover on downs and then had their special teams recover a kickoff for a touchdown.

By the time the Rush scratched the scoring column it was eighteen minutes into the game and they were down 28-0 and it was very much over. Reggie Gray (11 catches, 87 yards, 2 TD) took in a 9-yard pass from Michna and Luke Drone used his legs to notch his ninth rushing touchdown on the year to bring the team back within 20. However, the defense couldn’t find any clues to stop the Utah offense as Blaze wide receiver Tysson Poots terrorized the secondary for 11 catches and 126 yards in the first half alone. His 27-yard touchdown grab with 2:13 left in the first half put Utah up 41-14, marking his second touchdown of the night.

Nevertheless, the first half nightmare wouldn’t end there for the Rush as the Blaze attempted an onside kick that was fumbled out of the hands of Rush DB Kelvyn Hemphill, leading to Utah’s seventh offensive possession in the first half. Everything appeared to be snowballing until a holding penalty by the Blaze negated an end of the half touchdown to keep the Rush within 27.

The third quarter gave way to the Rush’s only advantage of the night. The opening second half possession went 47-yards ending with a Gray touchdown catch. However, the rest of the third quarter didn’t give way to the kind of momentum needed as the Blaze answered with an eight play, 48-yard drive clocking off over five minutes. Drone added his 10th rushing touchdown of the season on the following possession, but the large deficit needed more than the 14-7 point differential in the third quarter.

Stops never came for a Rush defense who relied on 14 Blaze penalties to slow the pace of the hard charging Utah offense. Just when the Rush had a chance to stop the Blaze on fourth down to have an opportunity at closing the game within two scores early in the fourth quarter, Grady surveyed to find Lesue for his 100th touchdown pass of the season.

Salt in the wound came with 7:28 left in the game after the Rush turned the ball over on downs for the third time in the game. Grady (32-45, 366 yards, 7 TD) launched a bullet down the middle of the field to a sliding Lesue who held on for his third touchdown of the game, putting the Blaze up 34.

Mistakes on offense weren’t necessarily the reason for the season low 28 points. The Rush held the ball for only 25 minutes all game and didn’t commit an offensive turnover with Michna at the helm. However, Utah appeared to be aware of everything the Rush threw at them offensively and defensively, putting the Visitors in a state of flux to find a remedy.

The ability for Utah to outsmart the AFL’s most efficient passer led to Michna only throwing for a season low 161 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdown passes against the Blaze were Michna’s lowest total for a full game since a 2010 Week 7 loss to the Iowa Barnstormers.

No Rush wide receiver collected over a hundred yards receiving for the first time all season. Conversely, Utah wide receivers Tysson Poots and Lesue both went over a hundred yards and caught three touchdowns apiece, while Kauleinamoku and Kelley each added 70 and 64 yards respectively.

A now 1-5 Rush road record won’t be tested for two weeks as the Rush return to the Allstate Arena June 16th where they have a shining 6-0 record. The opponent for next week’s home game is the familiar Georgia Force (6-6), who dropped the Rush earlier in the year 70-49 down in Gwinnett.

What made this debacle even worse was that Division leader San Antonio won and has a two game lead on the Rush.But,the Rush is only 1/2 game behind Utah for the final Playoff birth which the Rush are very much alive for.With home games remaining against both San Antonio and San Jose in addition to Georgia,they get a chance to avenge those earlier defeats and still could win the Division if they beat the Talons by more than 1 point,and at least tie them in the standings. It starts with this Saturday night’s 7pm kickoff with Georgia at Allstate Arena.

The webcast at arenarush.com (click on the RUSH-TV icon)begins at 6:45pm

When Chris Sale is on the mound with his quirky motion and left-handed deliveries that come at all speeds and from all angles, the White Sox like their chances. Every time.

“Obviously we have all the confidence in the world. We know if we score him a few runs, then normally it’s going to be good enough,” slugger Adam Dunn said.

That’s what happened again on Saturday when Sale pitched eight shutout innings and Dunn had a grand slam in a 17-hit attack that produced a 10-1 victory against the Houston Astros.Sale (8-2) gave up four singles, struck out seven and walked none while lowering his AL-leading ERA to 2.05 during his fifth straight victory.Sale was sent to the bullpen for one game in May after there was concern about some arm soreness. But he had a candid and strong conversation with general manager Ken Williams and convinced the team he should return to the rotation.

“It was kind of crazy there,” Sale said. “But everything got figured out and I’m trying to move forward from that.”

Sale gave the White Sox a momentary scare in the sixth when he was struck by a comebacker from Jed Lowrie. The ball hit him on the bottom of the left foot, then caught him on the calf. But he was not injured and stayed in the game.

“That ball was smoked. Got to get out of the way of it,” he said. “It was kind of comical after the panic went away.”

At age 23, Sale is emerging as Chicago’s stopper. In his two previous outings, he pitched his first complete game against Seattle and struck out 15 against Tampa Bay.

“He’s tough to hit against because he has a lot of different things he can throw. I think a lot of people believe he just goes out and throws 98, 99, that’s not what he does,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “He actually pitches, hits corners, creates angles and things like that that make him extremely tough.”

Gordon Beckham had three RBI and Alejandro De Aza finished with four hits for the White Sox, who sent 10 batters to the plate during a five-run fifth that chased Houston starter Jordan Lyles (1-2). Chicago finished with 17 hits — 16 singles and Dunn’s 19th homer, a bases-loaded shot off Rhiner Cruz in the eighth for his 12th career grand slam.

“I just let the fifth inning blow up on me,” Lyles said, refusing to blame the poor fielding that jumped started the inning. “I didn’t make pitches. I put guys on base that I shouldn’t have.”

Alexei Ramirez reached on third baseman Matt Downs’ throwing error to start the fifth. Jordan Danks had an infield single and Ramirez reached third after a bad throw by second baseman Jose Altuve.Eduardo Escobar worked a walk to load the bases, De Aza delivered an RBI single, and Beckham followed with a two-run single to right as Escobar made a nice slide around catcher Chris Snyder to score the third run. Dunn hit a sacrifice fly and, after a walk to Paul Konerko, Alex Rios had another RBI single to finish Lyles.
Beckham added an RBI single in the sixth.

“You just can’t give a good hitting team like that extra outs,” Houston manager Brad Mills said.

The 21-year-old Lyles allowed seven hits and five runs, four earned, with three walks in his 4 1/3 innings. He is now 0-5 in 14 road games, including 12 starts.Lowrie hit his 12th homer leading off the ninth against Zach Stewart.

NOTES—Dayan Viciedo, who left Friday’s game after five innings with tightness in both hamstrings, was out of the lineup…..Jordan Danks made his first major-league start in left and got two hits. His brother, LHP John Danks, is scheduled for a minor-league rehab outing Tuesday. He’s been on the DL with a strained left shoulder…..The White Sox were doing more tests on 3B Brent Morel, who pulled himself out of a rehab game earlier in the week. Morel has been bothered by back problems

MINNEAPOLIS –Through all of Trevor Plouffe’s monumental struggles early this season, the Minnesota Twins and Ron Gardenhire just kept running him out there to play on most days.Plouffe had a double, a homer and four RBI and Scott Diamond pitched six scoreless innings to lead the Minnesota Twins to an 11-3 victory over the pathetic  Cubs on Saturday.

“I have tremendous respect for Gardy for having the confidence in me,” said Plouffe, who was hitting .135 with three homers and six RBI on May 18. “I talked to him today about that. I appreciate the opportunities and hopefully they keep coming.”

In his past 14 games, Plouffe is hitting .313 with six homers, four doubles and 11 RBI, a surge that has coupled with Diamond’s emergence as a front-line starter to key a run of victories for the once-hapless Twins.

“Right now there’s a whole different atmosphere in this clubhouse and on the field,” Gardenhire said. “That’s a start. You have to feel like you can win every day and that starts with our starting pitching.”

Diamond (5-1) allowed seven hits and struck out five and Joe Mauer added three hits and two RBI in his return from a sprained right thumb to help the Twins (24-34) to their ninth victory in the past 11 games.Jeff Samardzija (5-4) gave up eight runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings, tying his shortest outing of the season for the Cubs, who have lost 20 of their past 24 games.Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the Cubs, his 12th long ball in the past 24 games.For the first six weeks of the season, the Twins and Cubs were vying for the title of the worst team in baseball. But after starting the season 15-32, the Twins have shown some signs of life thanks in large part to the surprising emergence of Diamond in their starting rotation.The former Rule 5 draft choice struggled mightily in the minors last season and was called up this season almost out of desperation to try and help the Twins’ rotation. The left-hander has been nothing short of superb, allowing eight earned runs in his seven starts for a 1.61 ERA.

“We’ve been trying to attack inside the whole time,” Diamond said. “I found out last year that was my game plan and my style of pitching. Just trying to build off that and develop the other pitches around it.”

He had plenty of breathing room to work with against the flailing Cubs, thanks to an uncharacteristic off day from Samardzija.Samardzija has had an impressive season for the Cubs, entering the game having allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts. His fastball was again humming around 97 mph, but the former Notre Dame receiver was pummeled in the fourth.The Twins had six runs and seven hits in that inning alone, getting four doubles and two hits from Mauer, the last an RBI double off the wall in left field that made it 8-0.Plouffe hit a solo homer in the fifth and Mauer and Josh Willingham had RBI singles in the sixth to make it 11-0.Samardzija didn’t make it out of the inning, giving up a two-run double to Plouffe, an RBI double to Denard Span and another run on an infield single from Ben Revere before yielding to Casey Coleman. The right-hander also lasted on 3 2/3 innings in a start against Miami on April 19.Diamond was able to keep Soriano, who hit two towering home runs in a 10-inning loss on Friday night, in the yard, yielding only a single to the slugger in the sixth inning.By the time Soriano did go deep, a second-decker to left field off Jeff Gray that made it 11-3, the game was already out of reach.

“We still have a long ways to go here. We’re 10 games below .500 and we’ve been playing some pretty good baseball,” Gardenhire said. “That tells you how far we dug ourselves a hole.”

NOTES—Span had two hits and an RBI after not starting on Friday night because of an illness…..Willingham extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the first inning….The Twins send LHP Francisco Liriano (1-6, 6.46 ERA) to the mound on Sunday for the series finale against Ryan Dempster (1-3, 2.59). Liriano has pitched well since rejoining the rotation two starts ago, going 1-1 with a 0.75 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 12 innings. Dempster has probably been the Cubs most reliable starter, holding opponents to a .212 batting average. He pitched seven shutout innings in a win over Milwaukee in his last start.

Injuries and illness slowed down Jed Lowrie during his first four years with the Boston Red Sox. Now with a new team, the fresh start has energized him and he’s become a major force for the Houston Astros.Lowrie, who entered the season with 19 career homers, hit his 11th of the season — one of three by the Astros on Friday night — and Houston came into U.S. Cellular Field and beat the White Sox 8-3 in the opener of the last interleague series between the two teams since the Stros will join the American League next year.

“To go through a lot of the stuff I have over the last four years, you have to believe in yourself,” Lowrie said. “I’ve always known that I could be this type of player. It’s been fun so far, I just hope to continue that and stick to that same approach.”

Brett Wallace and Brian Bogusevic also homered and four Houston relievers didn’t allow a run over the final 3 2/3 innings.Houston, which lost 14-2 to St. Louis on Thursday, won for just the third time in the last 13 games. The Sox lost for the fourth time in 15 games.

“We had a long one last night and got in early this morning. We showed up and just took batting practice in the cage today, just tried to give everybody’s legs a rest,” said Lowrie, who has three homers in his last seven games. `And I think the results spoke for themselves tonight.”

Lowrie’s homer, following a two-out walk to Jordan Schafer, gave the Astros a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning. Slumping starter Gavin Floyd (4-6), who has given up six homers in his last two starts, walked two, threw two wild pitches and struck out nine over six innings.Wallace had a solo shot off Floyd in the second, and Bogusevic delivered a three-run homer in the ninth off Will Ohman.

“The ball goes flying out of here,” Floyd said. “I just have to make better pitches to those guys who are hot, especially Lowrie.”

Bogusevic, who started his career in the Astros organization as a pitcher before converting in 2008, had done some mopup duty in the loss Thursday night, giving up a homer. This time he made his mark late in the game with a homer of his own.

“Last night was a tough night for us,” said Bogusevic, who was born in Oak Lawn. “That’s the good thing about baseball is you can have a game like that and turn around and all of a sudden you’re in another one. It was nice to flush it out and get a win right away.”

Wandy Rodriguez (5-4) gave up nine hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings.The White Sox had several early opportunities against Rodriguez, finally breaking through a with a run in the fifth on Alejandro De Aza’s double, a fly ball that moved him to third and Adam Dunn’s hard RBI grounder that Houston second baseman Jose Altuve flagged down in shallow right with a nice stop and threw to first in time.Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski doubled to start the sixth to make it 4-2, Pierzynski moved up on a grounder and scored on Alexei Ramirez’s infield single, finishing Rodriguez and cutting the lead to one. Rodriguez gave up nine hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings.The Astros tagged on a run in the seventh when a single by Justin Maxwell and an error on Ramirez put runners at the corners. Altuve got caught leaving first base early, but in the rundown, Maxwell raced home from third with Houston’s fifth run.

“We’ve just got to be more heads up and be able to see him take off,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “We were sloppy defensively. We’re going to get better.”

Wesley Wright came out of the bullpen to replace Wilton Lopez with runners at second and third in the seventh and retired Pierzynski on a grounder.Altuve led off the game with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Lowrie’s sacrifice fly. Wallace led off the second with his first homer. In his last five starts, Floyd has yielded 29 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings. And in that span, he’s surrendered 10 homers.

“It’s location. Maybe the count, you fall behind. You give a guy the ability to sit on it and go after a fastball and it’s going to happen,” Ventura said. “It’s just his location needs to be better when they’re in hitter’s counts.”

NOTES—Dayan Viciedo left the game after five innings with tightness in both hamstrings and was replaced by Jordan Danks. … Astros 3B Chris Johnson left after six innings because of nausea and was replaced by Brian Bixler … Rodriguez of the Astros and Paul Konerko and Pierzynski of the White Sox are the only remaining players from the 2005 World Series between the teams that saw the Sox pull off a four-game sweep. …Brent Morel, who had been on a rehab assignment at Charlotte, pulled himself out of a game Thursday and will be examined. Morel’s been on the DL with a strained lower back. .

MINNEAPOLIS—With the game tied in the bottom of the 10th inning, Cubs manager Dale Sveum packed the infield as tightly as he could to make it as hard as possible for Josh Willingham to find a hole.The Minnesota Twins slugger found one anyway.Willingham ripped a single down the left-field line, scoring Darin Mastroianni to lift the Twins to an 8-7 victory on Friday night. It was Willingham’s second game-ending hit in the last 10 days.Willingham hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to beat the A’s on May 29. He also singled and scored on Justin Morneau’s ninth-inning triple Friday night, tying it at 7.Ryan Doumit and Trevor Plouffe homered for the Twins (23-34), who have won eight of their last 10 games as they try to climb out of the AL Central basement.

“Winning brings confidence in everybody,” Willingham said. “We’ve been winning more lately, so everybody’s more confident. I don’t think we ever get down or feel like we’re out of a game when we get down a few runs early.”

Alfonso Soriano homered twice and had three RBI and Starlin Castro added a homer and a triple for the Cubs, who have lost 19 of their last 23 games. Willingham’s hit salvaged the night for the Twins after they wasted a chance to win the game in the ninth.Minnesota had the winning run at third base with nobody out after Morneau’s tying triple against Shawn Camp (2-3).Sveum had Camp walk Chris Parmelee intentionally, then pulled left fielder Joe Mather in from the outfield and put him at second base as part of a jam-packed, drawn-in infield. Alexi Casilla hit a chopper to second baseman Darwin Barney, who got pinch-runner Denard Span at home plate to keep the game tied.Brian Dozier flew out to center field to send the game to extra innings.Sveum went to the same configuration when Camp walked Darin Mastroianni before Ben Revere put down a sacrifice and Jamey Carroll reached on an infield hit to put runners on the corners with one out. But third baseman Ian Stewart had no chance on Willingham’s hard-hit ball down the line, leaving the Twins to celebrate on the field.

“I knew they brought an extra guy in the infield,” Willingham said. “I wasn’t paying attention to where they were. I was just trying to hit the ball somewhere.”

Matt Capps (1-3) pitched a scoreless 10th to pick up the win and Revere had three hits in the start for Span, who had an illness.It was another gut punch for the Cubs bullpen, which entered the night with the 24th-ranked ERA in the majors. Travis Wood gave up three runs and six hits in five innings, but Randy Wells allowed two runs and James Russell served up a solo homer to Doumit in the seventh that gave Minnesota a 6-5 lead.

“I just went with the two best guys that I’ve had all year,” Sveum said of Russell and Camp. “Once we battled back there, with Russell and Camp you’re going to run them to whatever their pitch count is in those situations.”

Soriano hit a two-run blast off Glen Perkins in the eighth inning for his 29th career multihomer game, putting the Cubs in front. The ball landed in the third deck in left field at spacious Target Field, an estimated 440 feet from home plate.Soriano also had a 431-foot solo homer in the first inning that put the Cubs up 2-0 and pumped up thousands of fans who made the trip from the North side.The last time these two teams played, the Twins visited Wrigley Field in 2009 and seemingly brought the entire Twin Cities with them. Twins fans took over the old yard and Cubs fans aimed to return the favor this weekend.Target Field was awash in Cubbie blue, even though there was no Old Style to be found. During the seventh-inning stretch, the throng thundered “root, root, root for the Cubbies!” and chanted “Let’s Go Cubs!” after Soriano’s homer in the eighth.Just like they have on most occasions at home this season, the Cubs fans left disappointed.

NOTES—Soriano’s first homer was the 350th of his career. … Joe Mauer missed his fifth straight game with a sprained right thumb, but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Mauer was available to pinch hit and likely would return to the lineup on Saturday. … Parmelee played after being called up from Triple-A Rochester earlier Friday. He took a spill over a railing and into the camera well while trying to chase down a fly ball in foul territory in the fourth inning, but wasn’t hurt. … The Twins signed second-round pick Mason Melotakis, a LHP from Northwestern State, and fourth-rounder Zach Jones, a RHP from San Jose State. … The Twins send LHP Scott Diamond (4-1, 1.86) to the mound on Saturday for Game 2 against RHP Jeff Samardzija (5-3, 3.13). Diamond has pitched at least six innings in five of his six starts. Samardzija has been lights out at home, but is just 2-2 with a 4.45 ERA on the road.