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Thome homers as White Sox edge Orioles

Aug 26, 2008 - 6:50 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Chris Waters balked in the tying run and Jim Thome hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning as the Chicago White Sox recorded a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

Alexei Ramirez notched four hits and Ken Griffey Jr. had an RBI double for Chicago (75-56), which has won 10 of 13 and leads Minnesota (74-57) by one-game in the American League Central. The Twins lost to Seattle on Monday.

Thome's 28th of the season put him in sole possession of 15th place on the all-time list, ahead of Jimmie Foxx.

"It's very special, very special," Thome said. "Anytime, you tie or move ahead one of the greats in the game, it's very humbling. Something you look back and feel very honored and you cherish, that for sure."

Thome's homer gave the White Sox a win, just hours after they lost the completion of a suspended game.

Earlier in the day, Lou Montanez plated the go-ahead run in the 14th inning to give the Orioles a 4-3 victory to officially complete a game that was suspended over three months ago. The game was a continuation of the April 28 matchup that was suspended in the 11th due to rain.

In the originally scheduled game, the Orioles claimed a 3-2 lead with a three-run fourth inning. Ramon Hernandez, Kevin Millar and Jay Payton each had an RBI single.

However, the lead disappeared in the fifth. Ramirez belted a one-out double to center and advanced on a groundout before scoring on Waters' balk.

In a strange sequence, Waters was about to deliver a pitch to Carlos Quentin, who asked for timeout. It was not granted time out by the umpire. But Hernandez, who was playing catcher, stood up when he thought time was called, and Waters (2-1) was forced to stop his delivery.

"He balked," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "You don't react to the hitter. You have the ball in your hand."

The rookie lefthander pitched well, but ended up on the short end of things. He allowed four runs - three earned - and five hits in seven innings. Despite the balk, Trembley was pleased with Waters' performance.

"Waters got us seven innings, which was needed," Trembley said. "He kept us in the game."

The game remained tied until Thome blasted a 435-foot home run to center field in the sixth.

"He (Waters) struck me out the first two at-bats. He had nice stuff," Thome said. "(The home run) was a breaking ball and it was up. I think he made a mistake."

The blast helped Clayton Richard (2-2) win his second straight start by allowing three runs and six hits in six innings. Octavio Dotel and Matt Thornton each threw a scoreless frame before Bobby Jenks nailed down his 26th save in 29 chances.

"Whenever you go out for a start, you are hoping to leave your team in a position to win and that's what happened today," Richard said. "We came away with the win and I feel pretty good about that."

Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first when Ramirez doubled and later scored on an error by shortstop Juan Castro. In the fourth, Quentin led off with a walk, stole second base, and scored on Griffey's two-out double to make it 2-0.