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Vazquez shuts down Blue Jays, White Sox end slide

Jun 2, 2007 - 4:37 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Looking for a little good luck, the Chicago White Sox turned to Javier Vazquez to quiet myriad problems.

Vazquez pitched eight outstanding innings as the White Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0 on Friday, ending a season high-tying five-game losing streak.

Tadahito Iguchi had two hits and two RBI and Juan Uribe also scored a run for Chicago, which also has been hit with a series of injuries.

Vazquez (3-3) yielded six hits - five singles and a double - and two walks to get his first win since April 13.

"(Vazquez) was very good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He held us in check and did a great job pitching. He had everything going tonight and was able to throw his breaking ball when he was behind in the count. It was a good pitching duel."

The righthander, who struck out five, snapped a personal eight-game winless streak and earned the first win by a starter in the last eight games.

"We lost a few in a row so it's always nice to get the win," said Vazquez, who is 7-2 in his last 10 starts in Canada. "I love pitching (north of the border) and it's always good when you can stop a losing streak. It was great to get some run support early on."

It was also the fourth shutout for Chicago in 2007.

Closer Bobby Jenks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities.

The White Sox needed good things to happen to them after a troubling week that saw manager Ozzie Guillen say the team might be better off if he was the first manager fired this season.

"I just told them I believe in this ballclub," Guillen said. "I want them to play hard every day. I believe in what we have and they have to show themselves they're good enough to win this thing."

Chicago also had to overcome an injury to Darin Erstad the previous night in a 2-0 loss to Toronto. Erstad sprained his ankle swinging at a pitch in the sixth inning and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday.

Chicago already has two outfielders on the DL. Scott Podsednik has been out since April 16 with a strained right abductor and Pablo Ozuna suffered a fractured right fibula on Monday.

"It's been a tough stretch, but we all believe in ourselves," Vazquez said. "We know that we can win and that's the bottom line."

The White Sox scored twice in the third when Uribe singled with one out and went to third on a double by Jerry Owens, who was called up from Class AAA Charlotte to replace the injured Erstad. After a passed ball by catcher Jason Phillips plated Uribe, Iguchi hit a base hit up the middle to score Owens, making it 2-0.

Chicago scored its final run in the eighth when Owens hit a one-out single, stole second and came home on Iguchi's single to right field.

"I'm just happy to contribute," Owens said. "It was nice to get on base and score a few runs. Hopefully I can keep it up."

That was the final batter for Blue Jays starter A.J. Burnett (5-5), who allowed three runs, six hits and a walk in 7 1/3 innings. The righthander did strike out a team-high 12 batters but lost for the first time at home and fell to 1-2 all-time vs. Chicago.

"I made a bad pitch to Iguchi at the end of the game," said Burnett, who is 46 strikeouts shy of 1,000 for his career. "I'm just not content giving up three runs. Vazquez threw a great ballgame and I can't control what he does to our offense."