Minneapolis ? The Minnesota Twins looked headed for another loss until their ultra-valuable bullpen got an early call.

After 7 2/3 innings of scoreless relief by his teammates, Jacque Jones completed the comeback Wednesday night with a solo homer off Billy Koch in the 11th inning to give the struggling Twins a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

“We needed a win,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, who removed starter Joe Mays in a five-run fourth and then watched Juan Rincon, Johan Santana, LaTroy Hawkins and Eddie Guardado keep the White Sox from scoring while his team rallied from a 5-1 deficit.

“If we let it get any more than that, it was going to be over with,” Gardenhire said. “So we made a move a little early for the pitcher’s liking.”

Jones — who started the day in a 1-for-14 slump and was batting .222 in June — went 3-for-6 with three RBIs for the Twins, who had lost eight of 10 coming in.

Jose Valentin hit a three-run homer for the White Sox, who missed a chance to take the first two of this three-game series and trail Kansas City and Minnesota by 5 1/2 games in the AL Central.

Both teams wasted great chances in the final innings.

D’Angelo Jimenez singled off Johan Santana with one out in the Chicago ninth, and LaTroy Hawkins surrendered singles to Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez — who went 2-for-2 after replacing Brian Daubach as the designated hitter — to load the bases.

But Hawkins struck out Carlos Lee and got Valentin on a popup to end the threat before striking out the side in the 10th.

Minnesota's Jacque Jones rounds the bases after hitting a game-winning home run. Jones' homer in the 10th inning lifted the Twins to a 6-5 victory Wednesday against Chicago in Minneapolis.

White Sox reliever Tom Gordon loaded the bases with two outs in the 10th, but he struck out A.J. Pierzynski on a 3-2 count with a wicked slider that darted down and off the plate.

“One of the nastiest pitches I’ve seen in a long time,” said Pierzynski, who took no offense to Gordon’s repeated fist pumps on his way to the dugout.

“Pump your fist all you want in that situation,” he said.

These rivals have traded their share of trash talk, brushbacks and beanballs over the past few seasons, but nobody expressed any concern about the displays of emotion by Gordon or Jones, who pumped his fists as he rounded first on his homer.

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Gardenhire said. “That’s part of the game.”

Guardado (1-2) pitched the 11th for the victory. Koch (2-4) gave up the homer to Jones, his 10th, with one out on a 1-0 sinker away that didn’t sink quite enough.

“It’s one game,” Koch said. “That’s the way the ball bounces.”

Mays, once dubbed “Cy Mays” by White Sox manager Jerry Manuel for his success against Chicago, retired the first nine batters he faced on 34 pitches before hitting big trouble in the fourth.

Angels 6, Mariners 3

Anaheim, Calif. — David Eckstein went 4-for-4 with a homer and double, driving in three runs to lead Anaheim past Seattle. Shawn Wooten homered and doubled for the Angels, helping Ramon Ortiz win his fifth straight start. Anaheim won for only the third time in 10 games. The defending World Series champions trail the AL West-leading Mariners by 12 1/2 games.

Eckstein, playing his second game since getting dropped from the leadoff spot to the No. 9 slot, began the day in a 1-for-28 slump.

Eckstein doubled home a run for his first RBI in 46 at-bats since June 3 and later added a two-run homer.

Ortiz (9-5) allowed three runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. Ortiz combined with three relievers to end Ichiro Suzuki’s hitting streak at 19 games.

Red Sox 11, Tigers 2

Boston — Nomar Garciaparra homered to cap a nine-run outburst in the eighth inning and Boston beat Detroit. Garciaparra connected for a three-run shot, a day after going 5-for-5. The star shortstop is batting .427 in June.

Jason Varitek also homered for Boston. In addition, he doubled and singled, threw out two baserunners and tagged out the potential tying run at the plate in the sixth. The Red Sox have won the first three games of the series, with Pedro Martinez facing Matt Roney on Thursday afternoon in the series finale.

Yankees 8, Devil Rays 5

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Hideki Matsui drove in three runs and Andy Pettitte pitched into the eighth inning, leading New York past Tampa Bay. The Devil Rays outhit New York 10-7, but hurt themselves by issuing a team-record 12 walks. Pettitte (8-6) allowed four runs on 10 hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one to win his third straight decision since going only 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs on June 8.

Orioles 9, Blue Jays 2

Toronto — Melvin Mora homered, doubled and singled in his return to the Baltimore lineup and Sidney Ponson pitched another complete game as the Orioles beat Toronto. Mora had not played since being hit in the right hand by a pitch from Atlanta’s Greg Maddux last Friday. After missing four games, Mora came back to go 3-for-5, raising his AL-leading average to .366, and score three times.

Rangers 9, Athletics 8

Arlington, Texas — Rafael Palmeiro homered twice and Michael Young hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning as Texas rallied to beat Oakland. Young’s two-out single off Jim Mecir (1-1) brought home Donnie Sadler, who had tripled before pinch-hitter Michael Lamb was hit by a pitch, to make it 7-6. Hank Blalock then had a two-run single.