page_title: 2008 American League Central tie-breaker game
section_title: Game summary
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 American League Central tie-breaker game / Game summary
caption_attribution_description: English: Jim Thome
context_page_description: The 2008 American League Central tie-breaker game, commonly known as the Blackout Game, was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's 2008 regular season, played between the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins to determine the champion of the American League's Central Division. It was played at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois, on September 30, 2008. The White Sox won the game, 1–0, on a home run by Jim Thome, the lowest-scoring game in MLB tie-breaker history. The Sox advanced to the 2008 AL Division Series, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 3 games to 1; the Twins failed to qualify for the postseason.
  The game was necessary after both teams finished the season with identical win–loss records of 88–74. The White Sox won a coin flip late in the season which, by rule, awarded them home field in the game. The tie-breaker counted as the 163rd regular season game by both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.
context_section_description: Both Blackburn and Danks held the game scoreless early on, allowing only six baserunners through the first four innings of the game. The Twins' Michael Cuddyer led off the top of the fifth with a double, the only Twins runner in scoring position for the entire game. Danks induced a deep flyball out from Delmon Young, which allowed Cuddyer to advance to third. Brendan Harris hit a deep flyball to center field which was caught for an out by Ken Griffey, Jr. Cuddyer tried to score on the ball as a sacrifice fly, but Griffey delivered an accurate throw to home plate and White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski blocked the plate and tagged out Cuddyer to end the inning. This play drew praise after the game as a "nice throw" and a "defensive gem".
  The only run of the game scored when White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a home run. Blackburn got Paul Konerko to ground out, but allowed a double to Griffey and, following an intentional walk to Alexei Ramírez, José Mijares relieved him. John Danks lasted through eight innings without allowing a run and was relieved by closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth. Jenks recorded three outs, securing the White Sox' 1–0 victory with his 30th save of the season. Twins batters Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Cuddyer had a combined 22 hits in 40 at-bats (.550 batting average) against Danks for their careers but in the tie-breaker they combined to go 1–for-9 (.111) with 3 strikeouts. This game saw the lowest combined score of any tie-breaker game in MLB history, three runs lower than the 3–1 score of the first game of the 1951 National League tie-breaker series.
caption: Jim Thome, seen here in the regular season, was responsible for the only run of the game with a solo home run in the 7th inning.
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