As Jhoan Duran — a rookie Twins reliever who only transitioned from starting a couple months ago — stared down Tim Anderson — a veteran White Sox shortstop and soon-to-be two-time All Star — only one thought kept running through his mind.

The Twins were up three runs in the top of the ninth inning, and Anderson could have been the final out. But he was in no rush to wrap Saturday's game up so swiftly.

"He's a really good hitter. That's what I'm thinking," Duran said in Spanish through an interpreter. "Every pitch I threw that he fouled off: 'He's a good hitter. He's a good hitter.' "

This went on for 10 pitches until finally, Anderson skidded a ground ball to third baseman Gio Urshela, who flung it to Luis Arraez for that long-awaited last out. And Duran claimed his sixth save of the season.

It also helped the Twins save some face after falling 12-2 and 6-2 in the two previous games against the White Sox at Target Field. The Twins (50-43), who lead the AL Central by 2½ games, were on a bit of a slide, having lost six of their past eight games entering Saturday, including the two in a row against the third-place White Sox (45-46).

In front of an announced crowd of 28,514, the Twins established their lead from their first batter. Luis Arraez yet again demonstrated why he tops the league with his .342 batting average and .416 on-base percentage, smacking a home run off White Sox starter Lance Lynn.

Lynn (1-3) gave up two more in the third inning, a two-run bomb from Carlos Correa and three-run shot from Jorge Polanco. The Twins put up five hits with those five runs that inning, which ended up winning the game.

"Sometimes you combine three or four or five good at-bats in a row, and it's hit after hit after hit," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Those big swings end up meaning a lot."

Twins starter Dylan Bundy (6-4) held Chicago scoreless for three innings. He allowed two hits in the fourth, and one came in for a run on Jose Abreu's groundout. His only other hits allowed came in the fifth inning before he exited after Andrew Vaughn's two-RBI double.

Trevor Megill and Griffin Jax both didn't relinquish a hit in their combined 1â…” innings. Duran came in to close it through the eighth and ninth inning, giving up three hits but also striking out three while stretching out to 40 pitches.

Duran has made a name for himself with a fastball that can reach 103 miles per hour. But Baldelli said what the Dominican has brought to the Twins in his first MLB season is so much more than that blistering toss.

"He's been magic. This is one of the best pitchers in baseball, that's it," Baldelli said. "… He doesn't pitch like just some guy with a good arm who throws 100. There are more than a few of those out there these days, and they don't have that kind of success the way that Jhoan has had in the first half. He's turning into a pitcher as well. And you watch the way he attacks hitters and can do different things with the baseball. And truthfully, the strike-throwing with all of his pitches and just the general command, that's impressed me more than anything else."

Duran, though, isn't satisfied with his 2.36 ERA through 42 innings. He sees several areas to improve, including his 1-3 record.

"The game is 80 percent mental, and the other 20 percent is physical," Duran said. "… [Before this year] I've never pitched in tight situations — with two outs, bases loaded, I'm coming in against good hitters. At this level, the pressure that you feel with fans. I've never played with so many fans and things like that."

BOXSCORE: Twins 6, White Sox 3

Duran will have a week to ruminate on that; he won't pitch again until the Twins return from the All-Star break next weekend in Detroit. But he's also planning some family fun in the interim.

"I'm going to take a day or two off, and then I'm going to take my kids to the zoo or TopGolf or something like that," Duran said. "Just unwind. And get ready for the second half."