When Brendan Harris hit a fly to Griffey in shallow center, Cuddyer took off for the plate. He crashed into Pierzynski, who held onto the low, two-hop throw from Griffey while tagging Cuddyer for the out. Pierzynski then popped up and showed the ball as the crowd of 40,354 — mostly dressed in black — roared.

Danks (12-9) delivered in the biggest came of his brief career. He won a duel with Blackburn (11-11), who retired 13 of 14 before Thome led off the seventh with his long homer.

The White Sox hosted the game because they won a coin flip earlier this month and what an advantage it was: Chicago went 8-2 against the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field this season and 1-8 at the Metrodome.

"That's a battle between friends," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said, referring to the rivalry. "We just got the last laugh."

It was the eighth one-game playoff in major league history and the first in the AL since 1995 when Seattle beat the California Angels 9-1 to win the AL West. Playing for the Mariners in that game was Griffey and Chicago bench coach Joey Cora.

A late-season slide by the White Sox began at the Metrodome last week. The White Sox entered a three-game series with a 2 1/2-game lead in the division but the Twins pulled off a sweep to take over first place.

Chicago came home and lost two more to the Indians but was able to stay close because the Twins dropped two in a row to the Royals at the Metrodome. Both teams won Sunday, leaving Minnesota up by a half-game. The White Sox had to beat Detroit in a rain-delayed makeup game Monday to force Tuesday night's tiebreaker.

"We bounce back every time we are against the wall," Guillen said.

Their styles are different. The White Sox relied more on power, the Twins on speed. But going into the game they not only were 88-74, they had identical marks at home (53-28), on the road (35-46) and in their division (43-29).

"That probably says we should be playing this game," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said before the game.

The Twins withstood the departures of ace Johan Santana and Gold Glove center fielder Torii Hunter by utilizing the speed of youngsters such as Denard Span and Carlos Gomez, sound fundamentals that are taught throughout their system and clutch hitting.

Joe Mauer went 0-for-3 Tuesday night but still won his second AL batting title at .328. Justin Morneau, who drove in 129 runs, slumped in the final week.

The White Sox overcame late injuries to surprising star Carlos Quentin, who was leading the AL in homers when he broke his right wrist by hitting it on his bat in frustration Sept. 1, and third baseman Joe Crede, who had back problems. Neither is expected to return for the playoffs.

Notes: White Sox first base coach Harold Baines was not able to perform his duties because of an ulcer and was replaced by organizational instructor Omer Munoz. ... The White Sox are the first team in major league history to win their final three games against three different opponents, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... It was the largest crowd for a White Sox regular-season game since Aug. 4, 2003. ... The 1906 White Sox, known as "The Hitless Wonders," beat the Cubs in the World Series.

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MLB postseason

Wednesday's games

Brewers at Phillies, 1 p.m.

Dodgers at Cubs, 4:30 p.m.

Red Sox at Angels, 8 p.m.

Thursday's games

White Sox at Rays 12:30 p.m.

Brewers at Phillies, 4 p.m.