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White Sox end four-game skid with 4-2 win

Jun 7, 2009 - 12:24 AM CHICAGO(AP) -- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was finally able to find something positive about his team's offense.

Paul Konerko had a sacrifice fly in the first to end the White Sox's scoreless drought at 23 innings and Gavin Floyd pitched into the seventh, helping the Chicago White Sox end a four-game skid with a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

"We didn't have that many hits, but we still played good, we moved the guy over, we bunt a guy over, we got a sacrifice fly when we needed it," said Guillen, who watched his club score four runs on seven hits. "We got a big couple of stolen bases and obviously the pitching was great."

Floyd (4-5) allowed two runs - one earned - and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. He struck out seven and walked one. He has 1.82 ERA in his last four starts.

"Little by little he is getting better through the season. He started real (slow), all of a sudden he has turned the thing around and he is doing a pretty good job," Guillen said. "The last couple of starts he's thrown pretty good. Hopefully he continues to do it. I think this kid is strong enough to do it."

Josh Fields put the White Sox ahead in the fourth inning with a solo shot with two outs. It was his third homer of the season and first since May 5 at Kansas City.

The White Sox took advantage of Indians shortstop Jhonny Peralta's throwing error in the sixth. With two outs and runners on first and second, Fields hit a routine grounder to Peralta, who made a high throw to first that took Ryan Garko off the base. Then with the bases loaded, catcher Victor Martinez allowed a pass ball that scored Konerko and gave Chicago a 3-1 lead.

"Stuff like that happens. You never want to give a team an extra out but it's my job to pick him up. I came close to doing it," Indians starter Jeremy Sowers said."

Floyd hit Garko with a pitch in the seventh, then with two outs, Ben Francisco chased Floyd with a single. Jamey Carroll greeted White Sox reliever Octavio Dotel with an RBI single. White Sox reliever Matt Thornton limited the damage by striking out Martinez with runners on first and third.

Thornton struck out the first two batters in the eighth and got Travis Hafner to pop out to end the inning. Thornton struck out six straight batters dating back to Monday.

White Sox closer Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless ninth for his 13th save in 14 opportunities.

Sowers (1-3) allowed three runs - two earned - and five hits in six innings. He had five strikeouts and walked two.

"That last inning with Jeremy out there we gave them a run. But Jeremy threw the ball well. He was as good as we've seen him in a while," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "It was good to see him out there pitching the way he pitched. He really had to work hard the last inning but we gave them another out and they took advantage of it. That's a play that needs to be made."

Scott Podsednik had an RBI single in the seventh. It ended Chicago's 0 for 25 streak with runners in scoring position.

After being shutout in back-to-back games, the White Sox got a Bronx cheer from the crowd in the first inning when Podsednik scored on Konerko's sacrifice fly in the first inning.

Floyd escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning on Hafner's warning track fly out in right.

White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye served the second game of a two-game suspension for spiking his helmet and arguing with home plate umpire Mike DiMuro on May 13.

Peralta reached on shortstop Alexei Ramirez's error and moved to third on Hafner's double then scored on Mark DeRosa's bloop single. Ramirez saved a run when he made a barehanded pickup of Garko's slow roller and threw out Hafner attempting to score from third.

Notes: Francisco robbed Jayson Nix of extra bases when he made a running catch into the center-field wall padding in the second inning. ... Highly touted rookie INF Gordon Beckham was out of the White Sox starting lineup after going 0 for 6 in his first two major league games. ... The gametime temperature was an unseasonably cool 51 degrees. ... Hafner will have the day off on Sunday to rest his surgically repaired right shoulder. ... Indians reliever Joe Smith is expected to return "in the next couple of days," Wedge said. He is on the DL with a strained right rotator cuff.