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Jackson pitches White Sox past Orioles 8-0

Aug 27, 2010 - 4:12 AM By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO(AP) -- Edwin Jackson has fit right in since he joined the Chicago White Sox last month.

Performances like this one have helped with the transition.

Jackson struck out 10 in eight dominant innings, Alex Rios hit a two-run homer and the White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-0 Thursday night for their first series victory in three weeks.

"Just wanted to go out and stay in the rhythm and find it as quick as I could," Jackson said, "and just attack the strike zone."

Jackson allowed three hits and walked two, improving to 2-0 with a sparkling 0.96 ERA in four starts since he was acquired from Arizona on July 30. The right-hander, who threw a no-hitter June 25 at Tampa Bay, has struck out 34 in 28 innings with Chicago.

"It's hard when you come from a different team and get put in a pennant race," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "A lot of people, the expectation is very high. And sometimes you don't know how to handle it. I think he has handled it well. He came to a city that is desperate to win and in that situation we brought him here and he has handled it very positive and very good."

The White Sox remained 3 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Twins and ended a streak of five consecutive series losses, winning a set for the first time since they took three of four at Detroit from Aug. 3-5. They had lost seven of their last 10 games and 11 of 16 overall.

Rios finished with three hits and three RBIs for Chicago, which had 12 singles among its 14 hits. Carlos Quentin, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Mark Teahen each singled in a run.

"We all had good at-bats throughout the lineup, made the pitcher work," said Juan Pierre, who became the 11th player to steal 50 bases in a season with the White Sox when he swiped third in the fourth inning.

Tony Pena got three outs to finish the four-hitter as Baltimore was shut out for the 10th time this season.

Jake Arrieta (4-6) lasted just four innings for the Orioles, yielding four runs and seven hits. The 24-year-old right-hander is 0-3 with a 4.32 ERA in his last three starts.

"I was just erratic pretty much all night," he said.

Now, the White Sox go from the bottom of the AL East to the top, with the New York Yankees coming to town for a three-game series. New York, tied with Tampa Bay for the division lead, is scheduled to send A.J. Burnett to the mound Friday night against Freddy Garcia.

Thanks to Jackson, the White Sox begin the series with a rested bullpen after a taxing stretch that included two extra-inning games last Saturday at Kansas City.

"It's just one of those things," Jackson said. "As a starter, you want to go out and be as durable as possible and go as long as you can."

The Orioles dropped to 13-10 since Buck Showalter took over as manager on Aug. 3, then headed to the West Coast for a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels.

Arrieta walked three during a 35-pitch first inning but allowed only one run, on Quentin's single to center. Ramirez left the bases loaded when he hit a fly ball to right on a 3-1 pitch for the final out.

Ramirez bounced back in the third, driving in Konerko with a base hit to make it 3-0. Konerko singled in Rios and moved to second on A.J. Pierzynski's hit before Ramirez came to the plate.

Rios finished the scoring with a drive to left off Armando Gabino in the eighth. It was his 18th of the season.

Jackson, who struck out 11 in his previous start against Detroit on Aug. 14, has recorded 10 or more Ks in consecutive starts for the first time in his career. He became the first White Sox pitcher to accomplish the feat since Javier Vazquez in 2007.

"You look at any good pitcher throughout baseball and they use their fastball and they throw that fastball a whole lot. And that's what he did," Orioles first baseman Ty Wigginton said. "When you're throwing the fastball like that, you're able to open up other stuff and that's exactly what he did."

Jackson was supposed to pitch against Kansas City last Friday but the game was rained out after he threw seven pitches. Guillen decided against starting him in the doubleheader.

NOTES: Orioles CF Adam Jones was scratched with a bruised left shoulder and is day to day. ... In the midst of a roller-coaster season, Guillen said he loves managing in Chicago and was shopping for a house in the area on Thursday morning. ... White Sox general manager Kenny Williams was mostly quiet about potential waiver claims but acknowledged he was keeping a close eye on the budget. "We are stretched right now and, quite frankly, we're looking at walk-ups every day to see exactly what we're going to have available to us," Williams said. "But he (owner Jerry Reinsdorf) certainly hasn't given me any reason to think that there are any restrictions right now on dollars." Reports have indicated the White Sox are interested in Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez. ... The announced attendance was 23,898.