Three players ejected, Ordonez hit for second night

CHICAGO (AP) -- After just two meetings this season and with 17 left, one thing is already clear: The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox are not fond of one another.

	Ordonez

Magglio Ordonez homered twice and the White Sox beat Minnesota 7-4 Saturday night in a heated game that saw three players ejected.

"I don't know if it's over or not," Ordonez said. "When you're playing baseball, anything can happen. You never know."

The benches emptied in the sixth inning after Chicago starter Jon Garland was tossed for hitting Minnesota's Doug Mientkiewicz with a pitch -- one inning after Ordonez was plunked for the second straight night.

In two games, six batters have been hit by pitches, three on each side. But Garland became the first pitcher to be thrown out when plate umpire Bruce Froemming immediately ejected him after hitting Mientkiewicz.

"I was upset. I didn't see any real reason for me to get tossed. I missed my location," Garland said. "It seems like he had it in his mind to toss me. It's his decision. I'm not an umpire."

Minnesota reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who was not in the game, and Chicago center fielder Armando Rios were also tossed, according to White Sox manager Jerry Manuel.

Manuel said they were involved in a heated verbal exchange after the benches emptied.

"Magglio has been hit a couple of times and Doug got hit and things escalated," Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "You have to stand up for your teammates. It wasn't like guys were out there throwing haymakers."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire described the small skirmish as normal.

"It was a bunch of guys chirping, a bunch of guys acting tough, not doing anything but walking around. ... It's part of the game,'' he said.

Pierzynski, Corey Koskie and pinch-hitter Michael Cuddyer homered for the Twins.

Garland (1-2), pitching to keep his spot in the rotation after three shaky outings in his first four starts, hit Mientkiewicz two batters after Koskie homered.

Froemming told both managers before the series that he wouldn't tolerate anything but baseball. He reiterated his point at the plate before Saturday's game.

In his opinion, Twins starter Kyle Lohse did not hit Ordonez intentionally in the fourth because, for one thing, it loaded the bases. But Garland hitting Mientkiewicz was different.

"With two outs and nobody on base, Garland stuck this guy and that's the sixth batter who has been hit in two days. He's a better pitcher than that," Froemming said.

"I felt it was the perfect time to stop it. There is a lot of bad blood between these two teams. We will go on the field tomorrow with the same alert. We will take action as it occurs."

Frank Thomas and Carlos Lee also homered for Chicago.

Garland went 5 2-3 innings, giving up four hits and two runs, and was replaced by Tom Gordon.

Thomas hit his second homer in as many games and fifth of the season to break a 1-1 tie leading off the fourth, and Ordonez followed with his fourth homer to put Chicago ahead by two.

Lee later doubled and scored when Joe Crede reached out and punched an 0-2 pitch to right for a two-out RBI single to make it a 4-1 lead.

Brian Daubauch, in an 0-for-18 skid, hit a bases-loaded single in the fifth for his first RBI with the White Sox, finishing Lohse (2-3).

Ordonez added a two-run homer in the eighth.

Lee, who earlier this month homered in five straight games, hit his sixth of the season for a 1-0 lead in the second. He had three of Chicago's 10 hits.

Game notes
Thomas' homer was the 381st of his career, tying him with former teammate Albert Belle for 46th place on the career list. ... Twins second baseman Luis Rivas was a late scratch because of a sore right hamstring and was replaced by Chris Gomez. ... Chicago reliever Billy Koch allowed his fifth homer of the season to Cuddyer in the ninth.