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Rolen gets late hit to help Halladay and Jays win

Apr 26, 2009 - 10:52 PM CHICAGO (AP) -- Roy Halladay is finding that it's a lot easier to pitch for a team with a potent offense.

Scott Rolen hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, helping the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3, Sunday to secure their sixth straight series win this season.

Halladay couldn't hold an early 2-0 lead, but believed his teammates would bail him out.

"You hate to give up a lead like I did today but I think I know more than ever I feel like, especially early in the game, we have a chance to get it back," Halladay said. "That's nice when you give up those leads to know that if you stay in it and keep grinding, you've got a chance to get it back. That's something that we didn't do as much last year but have done a lot of it this year getting those runs, especially later in the game. It's a big confidence builder."

Rod Barajas had three hits for the Blue Jays, who have won eight of 11 games and have won their first three series on the road for the first time in franchise history. The Blue Jays entered the game with most runs scored in baseball at 120.

Vernon Wells led off the eighth with a double off White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink (0-1). Adam Lind walked then Rolen drove in Wells.

Halladay (4-1) retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced. He allowed three runs and scattered eight hits in seven innings. Halladay had six strikeouts and walked his first batter in two starts.

Toronto reliever Jason Frasor got one out in the eighth and Jesse Carlson finished the inning by retiring Jim Thome and striking out Jermaine Dye.

Scott Downs, closing in place of the injured B.J. Ryan, pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save in two opportunities.

Lind hit a two-run double in the first inning to give Toronto the quick advantage. But Halladay couldn't hold the lead.

After a leadoff double by Brent Lillibridge, Josh Fields drove him in with an RBI single.

In the third inning, Paul Konerko hit a two-run double to give the White Sox a 3-2 advantage.

"It feels good that you got some swings off of him (Halladay) and some baserunners and gave him a fight, but at the same time he did what he always does and that's settle down and goes deep in the game and winds up getting the win," Konerko said.

Barajas doubled in the fourth inning and scored on Marco Scutaro's groundout to tie the score at 3-3.

"Everything just seems to be working right now," Blue Jays' Aaron Hill said. "Guys are doing their jobs on the mound and we're doing it on a day-to-day basis at the plate. It happens to be working right now."

White Sox starter Jose Contreras had his worst outing of the season Tuesday night in Baltimore - six runs over 5 1-3 innings - and came into Sunday with an 0-3 record and 8.04 ERA. But he was effective against the Blue Jays, allowing just three runs on eight hits in seven innings.

"I guess that was probably the biggest positive today, for him to go out there and pitch seven innings and give up three runs against that lineup," Konerko said. "That's going to make him feel good and it's going to make him feel he can do that against anybody because that lineup is stacked right now."

Notes: 2B Chris Getz was out of the White Sox lineup with a small fracture at the top of his right middle finger for the second straight game. "We're going to see how it reacts. I don't think it is a one-day or two-day thing," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. If Getz is placed on the DL, Guillen prefers the White Sox do not call up highly touted INF Gordon Beckham from Double-A Birmingham, who was picked in the first-round of the 2008 draft.