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Twins: Mauer foils Floyd's no-hit bid

M. Spencer Green, Associated Press

Chicago's Carlos Quentin scores as Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer looks for the ball during the first inning of Tuesday's game in Chicago. Quentin scored on an throwing error by center fielder Carlos Gomez.

Joe Mauer's double broke up Gavin Floyd's no-hit bid in ninth.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: May 7, 2008 - 3:12 PM

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WHITE SOX 7, TWINS 1

Up next: 7:11 p.m. tonight at Chicago • TV: FSN

THE GAVIN FLOYD FILE

Age: 25 Throws: right

Height, weight: 6-4, 212 pounds

Career stats: 11-11, 5.61 ERA in 46 games (35 starts) over five major league seasons

Season stats: 3-1, 2.50 ERA

Skinny: No. 4 overall pick in 2001 draft by the Phillies out of Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore, following Joe Mauer, Mark Prior and Dewon Brazelton and one pick before Mark Teixeira. ... Made major league debut Sept. 3, 2004, with Philadelphia. ... Traded to White Sox on Dec. 6, 2006 along with Gio Gonzalez for Freddy Garcia (the previous pitcher to one-hit the Twins, in August 2005). ... Was 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in three previous starts vs. the Twins, including his White Sox debut last July 6, when he gave up six runs in 5 2/3 innings.

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CHICAGO — One word sums up how the Chicago White Sox felt when they arrived at U.S. Cellular Field on Tuesday: embarrassed.

They were coming off an 0-6 road trip and trying to explain a lewd clubhouse gimmick involving blow-up dolls this past weekend in Toronto.

White Sox righthander Gavin Floyd pushed all that talk aside, coming two outs from the majors' first no-hitter this season in a 7-1 victory against the Twins.

Floyd (3-1) came five outs from a no-hitter on April 12 against Detroit, and this time Joe Mauer broke up his bid with a one-out double in the ninth inning.

The ball landed in the left-center field gap, just beyond the diving reach of center fielder Nick Swisher.

"When you're in that situation, you just keep attacking and anything can happen," Floyd said. "When it leaves your hand, you hope it's an out."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen pulled Floyd after Mauer's hit, letting closer Bobby Jenks record the final two outs to put an end to the Twins' five-game winning streak.

The Twins haven't been no-hit since David Wells threw his perfect game on May 17, 1998, at Yankee Stadium.

Floyd, 25, wasn't perfect. He walked three batters, including Mauer to start the fourth inning. He later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jason Kubel.

That ruined the shutout bid, and perhaps because the Twins had four runners on base in the first four innings, the announced crowd of 23,480 didn't seem to realize Floyd had a no-hit bid going until the seventh.

Twins third base coach Scott Ullger, who was again filling in as acting manager for Ron Gardenhire, said he thought the batters chased too many pitches.

"I thought the umpire might have had a tight strike zone," Ullger said. "And we just didn't allow him to walk us."

When Floyd got Carlos Gomez to hit a broken-bat grounder to shortstop, ending the eighth inning, the crowd came to its feet.

Coming in, Floyd had posted the fourth-lowest opponents' batting average in the American League, at .176.

But in three career starts against the Twins, including a 3-1 loss April 29 at the Metrodome, he was 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA.

Floyd struck out Brendan Harris looking to start the ninth inning.

Then Mauer spoiled the party. After taking a first-pitch ball, he drilled an 85-mile-per-hour cut fastball to the opposite field.

"He was kind of being effectively wild," Mauer said. "But to go that long without a hit, he had the right stuff going."

Even if Floyd didn't make history, he still gave the White Sox something positive to think about after they had scored nine runs on their six-game road trip.

On Sunday, an unknown player built a crude shrine with bats and two blow-up dolls -- creating a public relations nightmare.

After getting grilled by the media during the pregame, Chicago jumped to a 2-0, first-inning lead against Twins starter Nick Blackburn (2-2) and never looked back.

The day almost went from embarrassing to historic.

"I saw the best two hitters in the game were coming up in the ninth," Guillen said, referring to Mauer and Justin Morneau. "I hoped it would happen. Unfortunately, it didn't. [Floyd] pitched well enough to win, though."

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