Twins Get a Strange 5-4 Win

Justin Morneau circled the bases twice, and both times apparent home runs by the Minnesota rookie disappeared when umpires huddled and reversed their original calls.

“It’s tough when you get back in the dugout and the call gets changed and you have to run back out there,” Morneau said. “It’s a little bit of a letdown.

But what could have been a day of frustration for Morneau and the Twins still ended up as a winning one.

Jacque Jones hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning after White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin dropped his two-out foul pop, giving the Twins a 5-4 win Wednesday and a three-game sweep at Chicago.

The Twins won for the 10th time in 12 tries and moved 3 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central.

Twin Manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the fifth inning after a drive down the right-field line by Morneau was initially signaled a home run by first-base umpire Matt Hollowell and then changed to a foul ball after umpires huddled.

Replays were inconclusive, appearing to show that the ball landed just foul, but it was not clear if it first grazed the foul pole. The call was changed after an initial argument by White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen and right fielder Timo Perez.

Morneau returned to the plate and flied out.

In the second inning, Morneau hit a fly ball to left that third-base umpire and crew chief Ed Montague ruled a home run. But after an argument from Guillen and left fielder Carlos Lee and a huddle by the umps, the call was changed to a double. Replays showed the ball hit the top of the fence and bounced back into play.

“I will not change a call unless we are 100%, 99% doesn’t cut it,” Montague said. “You have to be 100% on it and that was the vote and we changed it.”

Toronto 3, New York 2 -- Vernon Wells homered in the 10th inning and scored the tying run on an unusual play in the eighth inning at Toronto.

Wells homered off Scott Proctor (1-1) with one out as Toronto avoided a three-game sweep. In the top of the 10th, Wells robbed Derek Jeter of extra bases with a running catch at the wall in center field.

In the eighth inning, after New York starter Jon Lieber walked Wells with two out, left-hander Felix Heredia came in to face left-handed Carlos Delgado, who doubled off the wall in right.

With New York employing a shift against Delgado, a cutoff man wasn’t in place to take Gary Sheffield’s throw. Shortstop Jeter eventually picked up the ball, but it wasn’t in time to hold Wells at third and he scored the tying run without a throw.

Cleveland 5, Detroit 4 -- Scott Elarton won for the first time in 18 starts, and Casey Blake’s two-run homer in the seventh inning sent the Indians to a victory at Cleveland.

Elarton (1-2) hadn’t won since Sept. 19, 2003, for Colorado. The right-hander went 0-6 this season for the Rockies, who released him May 17.

Baltimore 4, Boston 1 -- Dave Borkowski took a two-hitter into the eighth inning and Javy Lopez hit two homers off Curt Schilling at Baltimore.

Facing a torrid-hitting club that scored 39 runs in its previous four games, Borkowski (2-2) gave up three hits in seven-plus innings. He struck out seven and walked none.

Tampa Bay 10, Kansas City 1 -- Mark Hendrickson gave up four hits at St. Petersburg, Fla., in his second complete game in three starts. The Royals are 7-24 since June 24.