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Quentin's grand slam sends White Sox past Angels

May 15, 2008 - 6:25 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Throughout the majority of the Wednesday's game, it didn't appear as if Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's revamped lineup was paying dividends. Carlos Quentin changed all that with one swing.

Quentin hit his first career grand slam in the eighth inning to break open a pitchers' duel, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Tied at 1-1 in the eighth, Juan Uribe started the rally with a sharp single to left. Orlando Cabrera, who replaced Nick Swisher as the team's leadoff hitter, failed to bunt on two attempts, but followed with an infield single to shortstop Erick Aybar, who sailed a throw well over the head of first baseman Casey Kotchman for an error to put runners on second and third.

A.J. Pierzynski, batting second in the order on Wednesday after spending the majority of his time as the No. 6 hitter this season, was then intentionally walked to load the bases and bring up Quentin to set up an all-righthanded matchup for reliever Scot Shields (2-1).

However, the strategy backfired when Quentin - hitting in the third spot for the first time this season - put a charge into the 2-0 fastball to leave the White Sox with a four-run cushion.

"It was definitely a good time for (the lineup change); it was good to come through for the team," Quentin said. "I was thinking single up the middle and to drive home some runs. I just put a good swing on it and you saw the results. I just want to give quality at-bats at the plate and help the team win."

Nick Swisher added a solo shot - his fourth homer of the season - in the ninth to account for the final margin for the White Sox,

Quentin, who plated the first run of the game with an RBI single in the first, tied his career high with five RBI.

His grand slam also gave him an American League-leading 10 home runs and overshadowed the season debut of Anaheim ace John Lackey, who yielded a run and six hits with a walk and four strikeouts over seven frames after being recalled Wednesday.

The righthander had been sidelined since March 21 because of a strained triceps.

"I felt good, it was a great place to start," Lackey said. "I was able to throw my breaking ball pretty much any time I wanted to. It's frustrating but I just gave the guys a chance to win and that's all you want to do. (Angels manager Mike) Scioscia showed some confidence in me and let me go a good distance."

The run support was more than enough for White Sox starter Jose Contreras (4-3), who allowed a run and four hits with three walks and three strikeouts over seven innings to collect his second straight win.

"This was a real big win for us, hopefully, this is a start of a real good streak," Contreras said. "My control was excellent, I was able to throw my fastball on both sides of the plate. Only the leadoff walk in the fifth inning was costly, other than that, I felt under control the whole game with all of my pitches."

"We needed this game bad for the momentum of the team, we couldn't waste another good outing by our starter," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We got on base and we swung the bat a lot better today. The bats started coming alive, we did a lot of good things; this is a big win for everyone and let's keep it going."

Mike Napoli's sacrifice fly in the fifth plated Maicer Izturis for the only run for the Angels, who have two runs or less in four of their last six contests.