updated 12:57 a.m. ET July 7, 2007

CHICAGO - Justin Morneau took a swing at history, but settled for a career game.

Morneau homered three times in the second game of a day-night doubleheader and the Minnesota Twins capped a huge day on offense by routing the Chicago White Sox 12-0 on Friday night.

“Those are just days you put in your memory bank and don’t expect them to happen,” Morneau said.

Morneau became the fourth Twins player to hit three home runs in a game, and Minnesota hit six in all in the nightcap to complete the sweep. The Twins won 20-14 in the opener of the day-night doubleheader.

It was the most runs scored by one team in a doubleheader since the Boston Red Sox totaled 35 in a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics on July 4, 1939, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Morneau hit a three-run drive in the first, a solo shot in the third and a two-run homer in the seventh, giving him 23 on the year. He became the first Twins player to hit three in a game since Tony Oliva against Kansas City on July 3, 1973, and he joined a group that also includes Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew.

Morneau had a shot at tying the major league record in the eighth but fell one shy. He unleashed a big swing and missed the first offering and flied to left five pitches later.

“He just missed that last one,” Torii Hunter said. “He popped it up, hit it high. We hadn’t had anyone do that in 34 years, Tony Oliva, so that’s a big honor for him.”

Morneau watched a video of his hits from last season on Thursday night and responded with his first three-homer game at any level.

“I was trying to get something good in my mind before I went to bed, and it ended up working,” he said.

Hunter added a solo shot in the third after going deep in the early game, Michael Cuddyer hit a solo homer in the fifth and Jeff Cirillo pinch hit a three-run homer in the seventh.

This came after a day game that featured more runs than any contest in more than eight years.

The 34 runs were the most since May 19, 1999, when Cincinnati beat Colorado 24-12, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

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But a major scare tempered the good vibe.

Catcher Mike Redmond suffered a bloody gash on his head after Chicago’s Jim Thome accidentally hit him in the head with his bat in the first inning of the second game.

Thome fouled off a pitch and lost control of the bat on the backswing, sending it flying into the right side of Redmond’s head. The catcher got seven stitches at the ballpark but said he’s fine.

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Designated hitter Joe Mauer went in to catch for the Twins, meaning starting pitcher Matt Garza became the first pitcher to hit in an American League game since Boston’s Hipolito Pichardo at Seattle on July 31, 2000.

Garza (1-0) pitched six shutout innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out six in his first start and second appearance this season since being called up from Triple-A Rochester.

Gavin Floyd (0-1) allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out two and walked four in his first appearance for the White Sox. Acquired from Philadelphia in the Freddy Garcia trade last December, Floyd was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday.

“It was hard to watch, hard to feel that way,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “You can do nothing about it.”

Morneau lined his first homer of the game off the Holiday Inn sign at the back of the bullpen. He and Hunter hit back-to-back shots in the third — the third time the Twins did that this year.

It was Morneau’s fourth multi-homer game this season and the eighth of his career.

Morneau became the fourth big league player to connect three times in a game this season, joining Houston’s Carlos Lee (April 13), the Chicago Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano (June 8) and Texas’ Brad Wilkerson (July 3).

It was fitting given what happened in the first game.

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