CHICAGO (AP) -- Jeff Abbott's job these days is to wait and be ready. As the Chicago White Sox's fourth outfielder, he's never sure when he'll play.

So Saturday night, in a tight game with the Minnesota Twins, he tried to stay loose just in case he got the call. And when it came, he responded with the biggest hit of his career -- a two-out, two-run, pinch-hit home run in the ninth that gave the White Sox a 4-3 victory.

"I'm not a very good pinch-hitter, but I hit in the cage for a couple innings before, so it wasn't like I was totally cold," Abbott said.

"It's my biggest hit. I've never had a walk-off home run. It can't get much better than that. It's always good to get a win when you don't think you're going to get one."

After reliever Eddie Guardado retired Chris Singleton to start the inning, Bob Wells (0-4) was called on to close it for the Twins, who led 3-2.

But Carlos Lee beat out a single to short when Cristian Guzman bobbled the ball. And after pinch-hitter Greg Norton was called out on strikes for the second out, Abbott hit a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left-center field and was mobbed at the plate by his teammates.

The victory was just the third in 12 games for the struggling White Sox.

"I threw a bad pitch and he knocked the stuff out of it," Wells said. "It's a frustrating feeling."

It was the first homer since last May 3 for Abbott, who spent most of last season in the minors after struggling with the big-league club. Saturday night's homer came in Abbott's 53rd at-bat of the season. He was hitting .192 when he came to the plate.

"Pinch-hitting, you got to get a call on the first pitch because these guys (relievers) are so good," Abbott said. "If they get ahead, they throw some nasty stuff."

Kelly Wunsch (1-2) pitched 2/3 of an inning of relief to get his first major league victory.

Mark Redman pitched 6 1/3 strong inning for Minnesota in just his second start of the season, and Matt Lawton's two-run single gave the Twins a 3-0 lead in the third.

Magglio Ordonez hit a solo homer in the sixth and Lee another in the seventh to make it 3-2.

Chicago starter Mike Sirotka gave up three runs on seven hits in 8 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.

Game notes
The crowd of 22,545 was the White Sox's second largest of the season at Comiskey Park, behind 38,912 for the home opener. ... Game-time temperature was 55 degrees with a westerly wind whipping between 16 to 29 mph, creating a wind chill of 38 degrees on May 13. It was so cold, first base umpire Steve Rippley wore gloves and a hood to cover his ears. ... In his previous start a week ago, Redman allowed just eight hits and a run over seven innings to beat the Tigers. His seven strikeouts Saturday night were a career high. ... Abbott had the last pinch-hit homer for the White Sox, on April 12, 1998, against Tampa Bay.