Twins pitcher Kevin Correia sounded a little defiant Friday, when he was asked if he was unable to find his form in a 9-5 loss to Chicago. "I felt like I was making my pitches for the most part," he said. "Physically, I feel really good right now. I wasn't out there questioning what I was doing. I felt pretty comfortable the whole time."

Manager Ron Gardenhire didn't see things the same way. He thought Correia appeared to be out of steam as the White Sox smacked him around for four innings at Target Field, amassing 10 hits, two home runs (including Jose Abreu's massive blast into the Twins' bullpen) and seven runs. That's the most hits and runs Correia has ever given up to the Sox, and it came at a bad time, with the Twins' long relievers in need of rest.

Gardenhire said before the game that it was "a little scary" to have both Sam Deduno and Anthony Swarzak unavailable Friday after pitching multiple innings in recent days. Correia threw 79 pitches in his four innings, but even given the dire circumstances, Gardenhire said he didn't consider leaving him in.

"We don't want to hurt him," the manager said. "We can't afford that right now. He's going to start again here in five days, six days. We can't get him killed.

"That's two games in a row where he's gotten four innings and he's had to labor, really labor. That wasn't easy. We just got him out of there and did the best we could with the rest of the guys."

Correia regretted only the two hanging curveballs that landed over the fence, and he had no answers for his recent woes.

"I've just had two bad starts in a row," he said. "I was on a good run. I had a couple bad ones in a row, and now, I need to get on another good run. But I feel good. I threw two bad pitches to their two best hitters."

Other bits from tonight's game:

--Abreu's homer was his 30th this season, the most in the major leagues. He hit it in his 89th major-league game, becoming the third-fastest player in history to reach the 30-homer mark behind Mark McGwire (84 games) and Rudy York (79). His 15-game hitting streak is the longest active streak in the majors.

--Twins center fielder Danny Santana batted leadoff and went 1-for-4, with a single in the sixth inning. He has a hit in 15 of his 21 games at Target Field and is on a five-game hit streak at home. He entered Friday's game with a .325 average, first among American League rookies.

--The Twins sent infielder Jorge Polanco to Class AA New Britain after the game to make room on the roster for pitcher Logan Darnell, who will start Saturday. Polanco got into Friday's game in the eighth inning and struck out in his only at-bat. "The kid's going to be fine," Gardenhire said of Polanco, who has appeared in four games and has two hits in five at-bats. "He's got talent. Now it's just about getting everything in the right order."

--White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo went 4-for-5 and tied a career high with four hits. He is 9-for-14 against Correia.

See you tomorrow!

RACHEL BLOUNT