Slowey puts Twins closer to White Sox

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Slowey pitched a six-hitter, Denard Span hit the first home run of his career and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-0, Monday to strike first in a key American League Central series.

Slowey (7-7) struck out five and walked one, and the Twins moved within 1 1/2 games of the first-place White Sox. The teams play six more times this season, all at the Metrodome, including three more games this week.

Span, the Twins’ first-round pick in the 2002 draft, lost the spring training competition for the center field job to Carlos Gomez. Span was recalled when right fielder Michael Cuddyer was injured last month.

Span is batting .318 with a .405 on-base percentage in 35 games. He and Justin Morneau hit two-run shots in the third inning against Mark Buehrle (8-9), and Brendan Harris later contributed a two-run double.

Buehrle was done after five innings, giving up eight hits and five runs. Only four were earned, because of fifth-inning errors by third baseman Josh Fields and second baseman Alexei Ramirez.

The left-hander took a 21-11 record against the Twins into the game, but it began to go bad when Span hit his first pitch of the third inning into the facade about 10 feet below the upper deck in left-center field. Morneau followed with his drive three batters later to make it 4-0.