The White Sox have five regular-season games remaining at the Metrodome.
The final one Sept. 2 can’t arrive soon enough, based on the manner in which they keep finding ways to lose to the American League Central rival Minnesota Twins.
Three errors and a dugout spat involving shortstop Alexei Ramirez and catcher A.J. Pierzynski were the lowlights Monday night as the Sox lost 4-3, their 12th defeat in their last 14 games at the Metrodome.
The only consolation was that the Sox (51-49) maintained their two-game deficit behind the Detroit Tigers, although the third-place Twins moved to a game behind the Sox.
The Sox lost for the fourth time in their last five games while briefly losing their poise.
After the Twins’ two-run second highlighted by two errors, television cameras caught Ramirez having to be restrained by teammate Jermaine Dye from charging Pierzynski in the dugout.
The second inning ended shortly after Alexi Casilla stole second base when Pierzynski’s throw arrived just before Ramirez and tailed away.
“It happened,” Pierzynski said. “It’s over. You move on. And that’s it.”
Moments later, manager Ozzie Guillen spiked a small tub of bubble gum in front of where Pierzynski was sitting with starting pitcher John Danks in the Sox’s dugout.
The gum remained in front of the dugout until the bottom of the third, when a bat boy swept most of the gum off the rubber track.
“I don’t like my players digging into each other for no reason,” Guillen said. “I was upset with the way we were playing too. And everything came together in the same inning.
“I was upset because things like that can’t happen. I’m the one that puts the fingers on the players because this is my job, and anybody [who] has a problem with that, they know what to do.”
Ramirez left the clubhouse while reporters were talking to Dye, who declined to comment on the incident.
Unfortunately for the Sox, they had no one to overcome their mistakes, despite home runs from rookie Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko.
In the second, Jayson Nix’s relay throw to first base skipped past Konerko and enabled Brendan Harris to score the tying run. Casilla hit a grounder to the mound, and Danks made a low throw. Konerko let the ball skip under his glove and was charged with an error that allowed Nick Punto to score the go-ahead run.
Konerko’s two-run home run in the third held up until the sixth, when Michael Cuddyer hit a two-run homer off Danks (8-7).
Danks, pitching for the first time since July 17 because of a blister on his left index finger that developed into circulatory problems, showed no signs of the wildness that hampered him during a July 10 start in which he walked the first four batters.
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mgonzalez@tribune.com
Up next
Tuesday at Twins, 7:10 p.m., CSN
