TWINS 5, WHITE SOX 4
Joe Mauer received one more pitch as catcher, and Minnesota likely said goodbye to the longtime face of its franchise during an emotional win over Chicago.
The 35-year-old Mauer was playing the final game of an eight-year, $184 million contract. He doubled into the left-center gap with a line drive off Juan Minaya in his final at-bat.
The 2009 AL MVP then made a surprise appearance behind the plate in the ninth, his first time catching in a game since Aug. 19, 2013. He caught one pitch from Matt Belisle, then walked off to a final standing ovation and was replaced by Chris Gimenez.
Max Kepler and Jake Cave homered for the Twins, and reliever Andrew Vasquez (1-0) earned the victory for the Twins with one perfect inning of relief. Trevor May replaced Belisle and got three straight outs with the tying run on second in the ninth to earn his third save.
Dylan Covey (5-14) gave up five runs over six innings as Chicago lost its 100th game.
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