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White Sox wallop Indians 7-2 behind Teahen

May 25, 2010 - 3:23 AM By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND(AP) -- Omar Vizquel has already borrowed Luis Aparicio's No. 11. And for now, he's sharing another number with his boyhood idol.

Vizquel moved into a tie with the Hall of Famer for the second-most career hits by a shortstop, and Mark Teahen drove in three runs as the Chicago White Sox snapped a five-game losing streak to Cleveland by beating the hapless Indians 7-2 on Monday night.

Vizquel singled in the fifth inning off Aaron Laffey for his 2,764th hit, tying Aparicio, his Venezuelan countryman and a man White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen called "an icon" in their homeland.

Vizquel singled again in the ninth, but it came after he had been moved to third base so he remains tied with Aparicio.

"That doesn't count?" Vizquel said with a smile. "That's a shame. What's Ozzie doing?"

Vizquel's hit total as a shortstop is second only to New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, who entered the week with 2,782.

Teahen hit a two-run double in Chicago's four-run first inning off Justin Masterson (0-5), who lost his 11th straight decision. The right-hander hasn't won in 16 starts since Aug. 20.

White Sox starter John Danks (4-3) allowed two runs and six hits in five innings to snap a personal three-game losing streak. The left-hander was winless in his previous four starts, and the White Sox scored just three runs in his last three outings.

"I would have liked to go deeper," Danks said. "But it's nice to get a win."

When Vizquel joined the White Sox, he couldn't wear his familiar No. 13 because it belonged to Guillen, who wouldn't give it up. So Vizquel asked Aparicio if he could wear No. 11 to honor the longtime shortstop.

Aparicio gave his blessing and the White Sox brought back the number, retired in 1984, for Vizquel to wear this season.

The 43-year-old Vizquel received a warm ovation from Cleveland fans, who adored the 11-time Gold Glove winner during his 11 seasons playing for the Indians.

Vizquel was humbled by equaling Aparicio's mark.

"It's unbelievable," he said. "Wow, that's a lot of hits. I never thought I would get that amount of hits in the big leagues. It's unreal. I look back on my career and I'm really proud it has been consistent throughout the years and it makes me proud because defensively I know that I can play, but that's a lot of hits."

After shutting out the Indians on opening day in Chicago, the White Sox dropped five in a row to the AL Central's last-place team.

Alex Rios hit his ninth homer for the White Sox.

Masterson's season-long slide shows no signs of slowing.

The right-hander needed 44 pitches to get out of the first, and by the time he retired Vizquel on a fly to deep right for the third out, the Indians were already in a 4-0 hole.

Chicago scored on Rios' RBI groundout, Mark Kotsay's run-scoring double and Teahen's two-run double to left-center.

"I felt this might be the day," Masterson said. "Of course, I got out there and it turned out to not be the day. That's the frustrating thing. That's not what we want. I still felt strong. I made some good pitches at times. I wanted to keep it close."

Indians manager Manny Acta said there are no immediate plans to drop Masterson from the rotation.

"We'll see," Acta said. "It's not just going to be a knee-jerk reaction after a game before we talk it over and talk to the player. Up to now, he's still starting for us."

Danks, meanwhile, set down the Indians on 13 pitches in the first and had four strikeouts in two innings before Cleveland threatened with a leadoff single and double in the third. The left-hander worked out of the jam, but couldn't escape a similar mess in the fourth.

The Indians, who have lost seven of eight, closed within 5-2 on Matt LaPorta's RBI groundout and Lou Marson's run-scoring single.

Chicago answered with a run in the seventh when second baseman Mark Grudzielanek couldn't handle Teahen's hard single up the middle with a runner at third.

NOTES: Vizquel did pass Dave Parker for 58th place on the career hits list. ... Once a team that regularly fielded several All-Stars, the Indians are virtually being ignored in fan balloting. Shin-Soo Choo is the only Cleveland player being noticed, ranking 14th among outfielders. ... Choo got his fifth assist in the ninth, throwing out Andruw Jones at the plate.