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Dye, Mackowiak lead White Sox past Orioles

Jul 13, 2007 - 3:56 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The Chicago White Sox do not appear to be all that impressed with Baltimore Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie.

Jermaine Dye homered and drove in two runs and Rob Mackowiak added three hits and two RBI as the White Sox on Thursday defeated the Orioles, 9-7, in the opener of a four-game series.

One of the Orioles' few success stories this season, Guthrie (4-3) entered Thursday's contest with a 2.16 ERA in 13 starts and had not allowed more than four runs in a game this season. However, the White Sox pounded the righthander for six runs - five earned - nine hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings.

"He was forcing it a little bit and he didn't have the finish on his pitches that we've seen before," Baltimore interim manager Dave Trembley said. "The guy has pitched almost like he's invincible, and tonight showed he's vulnerable."

Guthrie, who struck out three, struggled early as the White Sox posted four runs after two outs had been recorded in the first.

"If he got that third out in the first inning, it might have been a different ballgame for him," Trembley said.

Jim Thome began the outburst with a solo blast that cleared the wall in left, sailing just beyond the reach of left fielder Jay Gibbons.

Thome's 15th homer of the season could have been expected, considering the lefthanded slugger is batting .438 (14-for-32) with five blasts in his last nine games against Baltimore.

Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski kept the inning going with back-to-back base hits. Dye followed with an RBI single - one of his three hits - and both he and Pierzynski moved into scoring position when Gibbons misplayed the ball.

Another Oriole-killer, Mackowiak delivered a two-run double to left, extending the Chicago lead to 4-0. Mackowiak is batting .517 (15-for-29) with a homer and 11 RBI in 13 career games against Baltimore.

"It has been going pretty well lately," Mackowiak said. "I have been seeing the ball well. Hopefully, I'll just keep it up. I am just trying to hit the ball up the middle and the other way instead of yanking the ball and trying to pull it. I am just trying to get back to the little things and hit the ball hard somewhere."

After a walk, Guthrie avoided further damage by striking out Juan Uribe.

Dye's 13th shot of the season in the third inning was Chicago's 24th home run in its last 15 games. The recent power surge has helped the team win three in a row and 11 of 16.

"I just go out there play and have fun," Dye said. "That's what we need to do, is go out there, not worry about where we are in the standings, get back to .500 and give us a chance."

Working with an abundance of run support, White Sox starter Jon Garland (7-6) had no trouble securing his third straight win on the road. The 6-6 righthander allowed two runs, eight hits and two walks while striking out three in seven innings.

"I was just keeping the ball down," Garland said. "It is such a big difference when you go from the belt to the knees and are actually throwing the ball where you want to."

Trailing, 9-2, in the ninth, the Orioles made things interesting.

Run-scoring singles by Corey Patterson and Luis Hernandez and a two-out, three-run homer by Kevin Millar off reliever Boone Logan cut the deficit to two.

After Aubrey Huff singled to bring the potential tying run to the plate, Logan was replaced by closer Bobby Jenks, who induced a grounder by Jay Payton on his first pitch to seal the win and pick up his 24th save.

Millar finished with four RBI for the Orioles, who have lost eight of their last nine meetings with White Sox at Camden Yards.

Baltimore third baseman Melvin Mora left the game after the first inning due to a bruised instep on his left foot. The former All-Star fouled a pitch off the foot in his first plate appearance.

"Melvin will get an MRI and CT Scan (Friday) morning," Trembley said. "He said he felt fine all during the warmups and batting practice. After a foul ball behind third (in his first at-bat), he felt a twinge in his foot, and after his groundout, he felt it again."

It is the same ailment that has sidelined Mora for most of the month. He has had just two at-bats since originally sustaining the injury on July 1.