CHICAGO – An ancient proverb says success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. That doesn't seem to apply in the Twins clubhouse.
The real competition on Saturday didn't begin until after Twins blew a four-run lead and lost to the White Sox 5-4, when one player after another stepped up to claim the blame. This was a loss borne of many mistakes, and then many mea culpas. Choose your favorite culprit:
• Mike Pelfrey, handed a 4-0 cushion in his first start since May 1, gave it all back before he retired 10 hitters: "Knowing how good [White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija] is, to give that back is disappointing. … I wasn't able to hold it, and that's frustrating."
• Danny Santana, whose throw to first base on what should have been an inning-ending groundout sailed high, igniting an eighth-inning Chicago rally that broke the 4-4 tie: "I'm mad, because in that situation, I need to make a play."
• Blaine Boyer, who allowed Santana's misplay to turn into the winning run by surrendering a double to Conor Gillaspie and a single to pinch hitter J.B. Shuck: "I felt confident if I go low and away [to Shuck], we'll get him to roll it over. But [the fastball] was up. That's all on me. This loss is 100 percent on me."
Suffice it to say, all the Twins care about is that what started out as a momentum-building day, after the relief of finally winning a game the day before, ended up as another doubt-building loss. To wit: Will Pelfrey ever be consistently effective? Will the Twins defense ever stop sabotaging their pitching staff? Is the bullpen really up to this?
"Some good, some bad," manager Paul Molitor said. "The frustrating part of today is, you get four runs off a good pitcher and are not able to add on. … When you're beating a good pitcher, you hope you find a way to win."
That's their hope for Pelfrey, too, but his return from elbow surgery offered as many conflicting clues as ever.