ESPN MLB

CHICAGO -- Scott Diamond enjoyed plenty of run support from his teammates once again.

Chris Parmelee homered to cap a 10-run fifth inning and Minnesota routed the Chicago White Sox 18-9 on Tuesday night.

It was the second time the Twins reached double digits in an inning this year. They also had a 10-run outburst Aug. 6 against Cleveland during Diamond's previous win.

"I can't complain, that's for sure," Diamond said.

Minnesota also batted around in a seven-run second against rookie Jose Quintana, but first-place Chicago remained one game ahead of Detroit in the AL Central. The Tigers lost 3-2 to Cleveland.

The Twins pecked away methodically with 17 hits -- only three went for extra bases. Every starter had a hit by the fifth inning.

"Balls were flying all over the place, as they always do in this ballpark," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Fortunately, we were on the good side of it. That's crazy. We've seen it here before."

Parmelee drove in four runs, while Ryan Doumit had three hits and three RBIs. Doumit hit a solo homer in the seventh and scored three times.

Minnesota's Eduardo Escobar had two hits and three RBIs against his former team.

"Everyone contributed up and down our lineup. That's a beautiful thing," Josh Willingham said.

Chicago outfielder Dewayne Wise pitched a scoreless ninth for the White Sox, who had a franchise-record 10 doubles -- five in a four-run eighth.

Diamond made his first start since Aug. 28. He served a six-game suspension for throwing near the head of Texas slugger Josh Hamilton on Aug. 23.

Diamond (11-6) settled down after a rough first inning to hold the White Sox to four runs and seven hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked two.

"I'm just more excited to pitch again after the suspension and everything," he said. "It was good to get back out there. It definitely felt like I had extra juice flowing."

Minnesota fell behind after a three-run first but responded with seven runs in the second and 10 in the fifth for its fourth win in 14 games against Chicago this season.

Parmelee's three-run shot extended the lead to 17-4. White Sox manager Robin Ventura emptied his bench in the bottom of the fifth, leaving only two starters in.

"It's one of those games where they were putting it in play," Ventura said. "They had good at-bats. It's worse if you make an error and lose a game or play sloppy that way. This is just one of those, we'll forget this one and play tomorrow."

Dayan Viciedo's two-out double capped a three-run first inning for Chicago. Alex Rios singled on a 1-2 pitch to drive in Adam Dunn a batter earlier, and Paul Konerko drove in the first run with an RBI groundout.

Quintana (5-4) couldn't hold the lead very long as the Twins broke loose for seven runs in the second.

Coming off the shortest start of his young career, 3 2/3 innings at Baltimore, the 23-year-old lefty lasted just 1 1/3 innings as Minnesota pecked away with walks and singles.

Dylan Axelrod allowed both inherited runners to score in relief of Quintana, who was charged with seven earned runs and five hits.

Minnesota sent 12 batters to the plate. Nine reached base, but the Twins had no extra-base hits in the inning.

Justin Morneau singled twice in the second. He walked and scored twice in the fifth.

Escobar drove in a pair with a bases-loaded single in the second after being called up from the minors earlier in the day. He came to the Twins as a part of the July 28 trade that sent pitcher Francisco Liriano to Chicago.

"It was very exciting to see Escobar out there have some big hits for us early in the ballgame when it was a close ballgame," Gardenhire said. "One opened it up, the single. After that, it was nonstop."

Axelrod was called up from Double-A Birmingham earlier in the day. He is expected to make some spot starts down the stretch to give White Sox starters an extra day of rest, but will primarily come on in long relief for the time being, according to Ventura.

Chicago set season highs for runs allowed in an inning and a game.

Wise was the first position player to pitch for Chicago since Dave Martinez on Aug. 4, 1995. He also got two outs without yielding a run against the White Sox with the New York Yankees on June 29.

Game notes

White Sox C A.J. Pierzynski was given the night off with a lefty on the mound. ... The Twins called up RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Rochester. ... Twins general manager Terry Ryan said he hopes OF Denard Span (shoulder) can come off the disabled list when he's eligible on Sept. 12. Span has been taking swings in the cage. ... RHP Matt Capps (rotator cuff) has been throwing on flat ground. ... Jake Peavy (9-10, 3.28 ERA) will pitch the rubber game of the series Wednesday for Chicago against P.J. Walters (2-2, 5.40).