Twins score two in 11th to down White Sox in back-and-forth battle

Brooks Lee came through with an RBI single in the 11th inning.

Minnesota Twins second baseman Willi Castro (50) throws out Chicago White Sox second baseman Nicky Lopez (8) at second base during the third inning at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on July 8, 2024. / Kamil Krzaczynski / USA TODAY Sports

Brooks Lee hit an RBI single in the 11th inning and Manny Margot plated another run on his groundout the next at-bat to lift the Twins to an 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox in a back-and-forth battle Monday night at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

Tied 6-6 in the top of the 11th, Byron Buxton led off the frame with a single off White Sox reliever Jordan Shuster, advancing automatic runner Max Kepler to third base.

Lee then singled to center field to score Kepler for the go-ahead run, and Margot plated another with his groundout to third base the ensuing at-bat.

Kody Funderburk pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 11th to pick up the save, his first of the season.

The Twins (52-39) took a 6-5 lead as part of a four-run sixth inning. Buxton led off the frame with a double — he went 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored — and Lee brought him home with a single the next at-bat to get the Twins within a run. Ryan Jeffers then advanced Lee to third on a groundout.

That set the stage for Matt Wallner, who hit a two-run, game-tying homer off White Sox reliever Justin Anderson 389 feet into right field. Wallner's homer came off his bat at 116.7 mph, the hardest hit ball by a Twins player this season and the second-hardest hit homer in franchise history.

Carlos Correa, who exited Sunday's game against the Houston Astros after being hit on the hand by a pitch, then proved his hand wasn't an issue and hit a 357-foot solo shot to plate the go-ahead run.

Nicky Lopez knotted the game in the eighth inning for Chicago with a two-out RBI double off Twins reliever Griffin Jax that scored Luis Robert Jr., who drew a leadoff walk. Lopez also had a two-out RBI single during the sixth inning in a three-run frame for the White Sox in which they took a 5-2 lead.

Caleb Thielbar pitched a scoreless ninth inning, fanning one, to preserve a 6-6 tie and send it into extra innings. Jhoan Duran threw a scoreless 10th after the Twins came up dry in the top of the frame.

Duran picked up the win to improve to 5-3 on the season.

Shuster took the loss, falling to 1-2 this season, after allowing the go-ahead runs in the 11th.

The White Sox (26-67) broke open a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning by plating a trio of runs. Eloy Jimenez got them started with an RBI single, then Lopez hit the two-out RBI single a couple at-bats later and Jimenez was later able to score following a throwing error from Willi Castro.

Trevor Larnach got the Twins started in the first inning with a 382-foot solo homer, but the White Sox got that back in the third inning when Martin Maldonado hit a 408-foot solo shot. 

The Twins took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning when Buxton hit an RBI double to left field that scored Kepler, who doubled the previous at-bat, the 200th double of his career.

The White Sox knotted the game when Corey Julks hit an RBI double during the fifth inning. 

Chris Paddack was back on the mound after being reinstated from the injured list Monday and threw a solid outing, allowing just two runs off three hits while fanning three across five innings. White Sox starter Chris Flexen allowed just two runs off seven hits while fanning four across six innings.

The Twins and White Sox meet for the second of their three-game series at 7:10 p.m. on Tuesday.