White Sox 6 - 2 Diamondbacks
Final
  for this game

Rios homers as White Sox down D-Backs

Jun 19, 2011 - 4:02 AM

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Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Alex Rios hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and John Danks threw seven strong innings, leading the White Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Danks (3-8) allowed only two runs -- one earned -- on seven hits, and struck out seven in winning his third consecutive start. The left-hander was actually hit in the back of the head by a Stephen Drew line drive in the fourth inning, but remained in the game.

"The guy is pretty gutsy," said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson. "I'm not sure how many people would stay in the game."

Rios finished with four RBI, while Paul Konerko also homered for Chicago, which snapped a three-game slide.

Zach Duke (1-2) allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings for Arizona, which won the opener of this three-game set on Friday.

The Diamondbacks had evened the game in the fourth, but Konerko put the White Sox back on top in the sixth. With one out, he got a slider over the plate and crushed it to left field for his 18th homer of the year.

It was also his third hit of the game against Duke. Konerko is 8-for-13 lifetime against the Arizona left-hander.

Still, Konerko's success alone couldn't give the White Sox a comfortable margin. They got one in the eighth inning, which Micah Owings began by hitting Carlos Quentin with a pitch.

Alexei Ramirez hit a one-out single to bring up Rios, who pulled a low pitch over the left field fence for a 6-2 lead. Jesse Crain and Matt Thornton both pitched a scoreless inning to complete Chicago's victory.

Rios' run-scoring groundout in the second and Konerko's RBI single in the third put the White Sox in front.

But in the bottom of the fourth, Willie Bloomquist led off with a single. Drew followed by smoking a pitch back to the mound and Danks couldn't avoid the pitch. He managed to turn his head, though, and the ball bounced off, careening out of play along the third base line for a ground-rule double.

Danks was smiling as team personnel examined him on the mound, and ultimately stayed in the game.

"I felt it, I'm not going to lie," Danks said. "That's just my personality. I like to have a good time. I didn't think I was hurt."

He threw a passed ball that allowed Bloomquist to score, and Justin Upton lofted a sacrifice fly to right that made it a 2-2 game.

Game Notes

Danks picked up his first road victory of the season. He was 0-8 with a 5.25 ERA in his first 11 starts of 2011...Ramirez had three hits for the White Sox...Arizona was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position...Chris Young led the D-Backs with two hits...Arizona fell to 4-1 in interleague play this season.






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