Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle in the Twins 13-1 crushing of the White Sox Wednesday night. He started big and worked his way smaller:

One night after Chicago's Gavin Floyd lost a no-hitter in the ninth, Gomez homered off Mark Buehrle (1-4) on the game's third pitch. He added an RBI triple in the fifth, doubled in a run in the sixth and completed the cycle with an infield single to lead off a six-run ninth. The ball deflected off reliever Ehren Wasserman, forcing a rushed throw by shortstop Alexei Ramirez that sailed wide.

He thought about bunting, but changed his mind.

That single made Gomez -- acquired from the New York Mets in the Johan Santana trade -- the eighth Twins player to hit for the cycle and the first since Puckett on Aug. 1, 1986, against Oakland. He was also the first player to hit for the cycle against the White Sox since Oakland's Mike Blowers on May 18, 1998. Gomez was 4-for-6 while driving in three runs and scoring two.

"When I got the cycle, I thought of my family," Gomez

You can watch the highlight here. He was helped by some bad defense. The homer and the triple were legitimate. The double came because Quentin dives for the ball and it gets by him. If he plays it on a hop, that's a single. Still congratulations to Carlos Gomez on a big night, and making the Twins fans feel a bit better about the Santana trade. The Twins continue to win in the division with a 13-7 record, the reason they're in first place by 1 1/2 games.

On a related note, the White Sox put some clothes on the girls. :-)