Ryan Jeffers belted a three-run homer, and the Minnesota Twins held on for a 6-4 win over the host Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.
Kaelen Culpepper went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI for Minnesota (68-74), which evened the three-game series at one win apiece with the rubber match set for Sunday. Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee added one RBI apiece.
Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run homer to lead Chicago (74-68). Colson Montgomery added a solo home run, and Miguel Vargas drove in a run.
Twins right-hander Taj Bradley (11-6) allowed four runs on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out six.
White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay (9-8) gave up five runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked one and fanned three.
Twins right-hander Yoendrys Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save.
The White Sox wasted no time jumping to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Sam Antonacci drew a leadoff walk, and two batters later Murakami belted an opposite-field homer over the wall in left field to make it 2-0. It was the 30th homer for Murakami, who arrived in the majors this season after a standout career in Japan.
Montgomery made it a three-run lead later in the inning with a homer to right. It marked his 31st homer of the season and his second in as many nights.
The Twins cut the deficit to 3-2 in the fourth. Clemens grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice, and Lee delivered moments later with an RBI double to left.
One inning later, the Twins seized a 5-3 advantage. Ryan Kreidler was hit by a pitch, Luke Keaschall singled and one out later, Jeffers took advantage with a three-run homer to left.
The 415-foot shot gave Jeffers four home runs in his past five games.
Chicago pulled within 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth. Chase Meidroth singled to center, stole second base and scored on a two-out single by Vargas to left.
The Twins increased their lead to 6-4 on Culpepper’s RBI double in the seventh.
