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Quentin leads ChiSox over Tigers

Jul 26, 2011 - 6:57 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Carlos Quentin's two-run, ground-rule double in the fifth inning helped the Chicago White Sox take a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game set.

Mark Buehrle (8-5) went six innings, allowing two unearned runs while scattering 10 hits and a walk for the win.

Paul Konerko had two RBI, including a solo home run, as the White Sox won their third straight contest. They sit 3 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.

"We've picked each other up. That's the key about a good attitude, a winning team," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Duane Below (0-1) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks through 4 2/3 innings in his second career and first road start.

Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in the Tigers' second loss in their past three games.

"We didn't do much offensively," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "It wasn't like we were hitting the ball that good."

After Magglio Ordonez's two-out single in the third inning, Cabrera hit a pop up into shallow center field. White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham tracked the ball back, but as he reached up for the ball it hit the heel of his glove and fell to the floor, putting runners on the corners. Victor Martinez followed with a soft liner into right-center for an RBI single.

It looked like that would be the only damage in the inning when Jhonny Peralta then popped a ball into shallow left-center, but a miscommunication between shortstop Alexei Ramirez and center fielder Alex Rios allowed the ball to fall in between them both as no one made a play for the ball. Cabrera crossed the plate on the play. An infield single on a soft grounder to third by Carlos Guillen loaded the bases, but Ryan Rayburn's flyout to deep center field ended the inning and kept it a 2-0 game.

Chicago answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning when Brent Morel led off the frame with a single, moved to second on a base hit by Juan Pierre, advanced to third on Ramirez's sacrifice bunt and came home on a sacrifice fly by Konerko. Pierre advanced to third on Konerko's fly ball, but was stranded there when Adam Dunn struck out looking to end the inning.

With a man on first and one out in the fifth, Pierre hit a ground ball to first for a potential inning-ending double play, but Pierre hustled down the line and beat the throw to first. Below then had Pierre picked off at first as he made a break for second, but Cabrera dropped the ball as he transferred it from his glove to his hand. Ramirez followed by pulling a ball through the left side of the infield for a single, scoring Pierre and tying the game.

Ramirez moved up to second on Brennan Boesch's throwing error on the play, and Konerko was then intentionally walked to get to Dunn, who worked a walk to load the bases and knock Below off the mound.

Chance Ruffin took his place for his major league debut and was greeted by a Quentin ground-rule double down the third-base line that was grabbed by a fan to give the White Sox a 4-2 lead. Rios popped out to second to end the frame.

A.J. Pierzynski led off the sixth inning with a home run into the right-field bleachers to extend Chicago's lead.

"In the first and second innings, we did not make the plays and the game seemed to be going in the wrong direction, but the guys picked each other up," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

Detroit made it a two-run game again in the seventh when Cabrera sent a Jesse Crain fastball over the right-field wall. Back-to-back two-out walks by Peralta and Guillen put the tying runs on, but Guillen was thrown out at second by Crain when both runners tried advancing on Crain's slider in the dirt to end the threat. The ball deflected off of Pierzynski's shin guard and in front of the mound, allowing Crain to grab the ball and easily throw out Guillen by several steps.

Konerko made the Tigers pay for the blunder in the seventh by hammering a solo shot just inside the left-field foul pole, once again extending Chicago's lead to three runs.

Game Notes

Detroit purchased the contract of Ruffin from Toledo and optioned pitcher Lester Oliveros to Toledo on Monday...Leyland was ejected from the game in between the fifth and sixth innings for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Jim Wolf...Buehrle has now not allowed more than three earned runs in 15 straight starts...Chicago improved to 6-0 in Buehrle's last six starts...The win was the 1,000th all-time victory by the White Sox over the Tigers.