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White Sox rally to beat O's, win fourth straight

Aug 9, 2011 - 5:25 AM Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Alex Rios' eighth-inning RBI single pushed the Chicago White Sox past the Baltimore Orioles, 7-6, in the opener of a four-game set.

A.J. Pierzynski, who finished 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, tied the game with a sac fly earlier in the eighth. Carlos Quentin went 2-for-4 and scored a pair and Gordon Beckham added a two-run homer for the White Sox, who won their fourth straight after a six-game slide.

The Orioles grabbed the lead in the seventh courtesy of a J.J. Hardy three- run blast. Hardy, who missed the Orioles' previous three games with a sore ankle, went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Matt Wieters also had two doubles and finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored.

Jesse Crain (6-3) earned the win despite surrendering the home run to Hardy. Sergio Santos struck out the side in the ninth to record his 23rd save of the season.

Jim Johnson (5-4) gave up the tying and go-ahead runs to suffer the loss.

Both starters were touched for five runs -- four earned -- and neither factored in the decision.

John Danks lasted 6 1/3 frames for the White Sox, while Jeremy Guthrie went seven innings for the O's.

Paul Konerko ripped a ground-rule double in the first but was stranded. In the second, the White Sox cashed in.

Pierzynski led off with a home run. Rios followed with a double and scored on Adam Dunn's single before Beckham's blast to left. Both homers came on an 0-2 count.

Wieters began the home third with a double and scored on Josh Bell's single up the middle. Bell moved to third on Hardy's double and scored on Nick Markakis' sac fly.

In the fifth, Robert Andino reached on a fielder's choice groundout, moved to second on Bell's base hit and scored on Hardy's double.

A half-inning later, Bell's error on a routine grounder allowed Konerko to reach. Quentin then ripped a ball into the corner in left. Konerko, who is suffering nerve damage in his left knee, hobbled around second and was gunned down at third. Pierzynski followed with a base hit up the middle to plate Quentin.

In the seventh, Wieters again led off with a double, then attempted to take third on Andino's slow roller back to the mound. Danks' throw arrived in time, but Wieters was able to dislodge the ball from Brent Morel's glove with a hard slide.

After a Bell strikeout, Danks was removed. Hardy greeted Crain with a blast to left, giving the Orioles their first lead.

"We had some opportunities," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "The guys kept battling, didn't roll over and took the lead. I was proud of them."

Johnson replaced Guthrie to begin the eighth and could not maintain the advantage. He issued a one-out walk to Konerko. Pinch-runner Brent Lillibridge advanced to third on Quentin's single and scored on Pierzynski's sac fly. Rios pushed home the go-ahead run with a sharp grounder to third. Bell did not get his glove on the ball, although it appeared playable.

"You gotta knock it down," Bell said of Rios' grounder. "On my part it's just a bad read. One wrong skip off the grass gave me a longer hop than what I thought. You gotta knock it down. You gotta make the plays."

Pierznyski said it was nice for a change to rally instead of being on the other side of the final score.

"It's nice to finally do that," he said. "Our pitching has been pretty good all year and we've been fighting, scrapping and clawing. It's nice to come back on somebody else instead of having to do it to us."

The Orioles placed runners on first and second with one down in the home half, but Andino popped out and Matt Thorton entered to ground out Bell.

Game Notes

The White Sox have won a season-high six straight road games. They are 32-26 on the road this season, as compared to 24-32 at home...Chicago's Juan Pierre extended his hit streak to nine games...The Orioles have allowed 60 unearned runs this season, the second-most in the AL...Prior to the game, Baltimore placed infielder Cesar Izturis on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain and recalled pitcher Jason Berken from Triple-A Norfolk.