A couple of bloops and then a blast do it

Want to know how the Twins -- once nicknamed the "Little Piranhas" by White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen -- have chewed Chicago's lead to half a game?

All you had to do was watch the fifth inning of the Twins' 6-5 victory Tuesday.

The Twins trailed the White Sox 4-0. They had managed three singles. They were facing talented young lefty Clayton Richard, whose slinging arm action had them befuddled.

Then one typically unconventional Twins rally changed the game. "That's a typical Minnesota Twins baseball game -- 25 bloopers and a big blast," Guillen said. "That's the way they play. They have that nickname for a reason."

Here's how the inning developed, and why this rally proved emblematic of the Twins' surprising rise:

Mike Redmond, backup catcher, leads off. With so many key hitters, such as Jason Kubel and Craig Monroe, struggling against lefthanders, Redmond is acting as designated hitter for the second game in a row.

Only the Twins would use a guy with no homers and six RBI as their DH when the division lead is at stake in late July. But every time you ridicule the Twins for using Redmond as a No. 3 hitter -- or a DH -- he seems to get a big hit.

Brendan Harris is playing at shortstop because Alexi Casilla hurt his finger, meaning Nick Punto had to be moved to second. Whenever Harris settles at one position the Twins move him, but he's become an important bottom-of-the-order hitter the last couple of months, and now he draws a walk.

Brian Buscher, perhaps the most notable overachiever of all the Twins, grounds to second, moving the runners up.

Up comes Carlos Gomez, who ran into the wall in Cleveland so hard he missed three starts. Now he's back in center and gets his second hit, a soft-serve single to center that scores Redmond.

"We don't hit the ball that great, and I got three base hits," Gomez said. "That happens."

Denard Span, the only Twin who can compare to Joe Mauer in quality of at-bats, draws a walk. Span's approach should make him the Twins' leadoff hitter for years to come.

In his first at-bat, Mauer hit into a double play. In his second, Richard struck him out on a high fastball, one of the rare times this year Mauer has looked overmatched.

This at-bat will be classic Mauer -- he picks out a fastball and raps it sharply up the middle. It bounces off Richard's leg and caroms for a single and an RBI.

Up comes Justin Morneau. He won Sunday's game with a ninth-inning double. He hit a two-run homer on Monday. He is the Twins' most valuable player, and he has acquired the ability to flail at pitches until he finally gets one he can handle. On a 2-2 count, he yanks a liner to the baggie, and Mauer looks like Gomez sprinting home from first.

Thus concludes a classic Twins rally -- two bloops, two walks, a solid Mauer single and a Morneau blast adding up to five runs.

This is how the Twins can rank last in the league in home runs (Chicago is first) and yet fifth in runs scored, right behind the Mighty White Sox.

The number that matters is down to one-half, thanks to Morneau's willingness to defy Twins philosophy and hit the occasional ball over someone's head.