=== Minnesota Twins Team Report - September 21 ===

(My Sportsbook) - With their third consecutive AL Central title locked up, the Minnesota Twins will put it in cruise control tonight when they take on the Chicago White Sox in the middle test of a three-game set.

Torii Hunter and Corey Koskie each belted two-run homers in the first inning to help the Twins to an 8-2 victory on Monday. Henry Blanco and Luis Rivas chipped in a solo homer apiece in the contest.

Lew Ford, Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, Rivas and Blanco registered two hits each in the win. Cuddyer has a nine-game hitting streak. Koskie tallied three RBI in the contest. The Twins have won 15 of their last 19 games.

Carlos Silva (13-8) picked up the mound win, yielding two runs on seven hits in seven innings. The righty walked one and did not strike out a batter, as the Twins won for the 11th time in their last 13 contests.

Minnesota is now 41-22 since the All-Star break. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has won the division title in each of his first three years at the helm.

The Twins, who are beginning a 10-game road trip that includes stops in Cleveland and the Bronx, owns a 41-31 mark in foreign ballparks this year. The Twins are six games behind the Yankees for the best record in the American League.

Minnesota will send righthander Kyle Lohse to the mound tonight. Lohse has won three of his last four decisions over his past six starts, including a victory over the Chicago White Sox last Thursday. The Chico, CA native limited Chicago to only four hits and a run over seven innings, while fanning two and walking one.

Lohse has made a pair of successful starts against the White Sox this year, going 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA. For his career, Lohse owns a 7-3 record with a 3.60 ERA in 16 games versus the White Sox.

Minnesota is 10-7 against the White Sox this season, including a 6-1 record at U.S. Cellular Field. The Twins, who have won seven straight over the White Sox, are 45-29 versus Chicago since the start of the 2001 campaign.