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White Sox down Marlins, complete three-game sweep

May 26, 2013 - 11:23 PM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Adam Dunn belted a two-run homer and Alejandro De Aza knocked in two more with a double as the Chicago White Sox completed a three-game sweep of the lowly Miami Marlins with a 5-3 triumph at U.S. Cellular Field.

Both De Aza and Dayan Viciedo finished with two hits and a run scored, while Alex Rios added an RBI single in addition to contributing a key outfield assist during the sixth inning.

The victory, Chicago's ninth in 12 games, moved the White Sox (24-24) to .500 for the first time since the club was 4-4 on April 10.

Dylan Axelrod (3-3) allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings and won his third consecutive start with help from the Chicago bullpen, with four relievers combining for 3 2/3 scoreless frames to close out the contest.

"I didn't have my good stuff, I was kind of erratic in those middle innings," Axelrod said. "But we pulled it out, so I can't be mad about it."

Marlins starter Alex Sanabia (3-7) lasted just four innings before exiting with an injured groin and was tagged for four runs on six hits.

Marcell Ozuna, Justin Ruggiano and Nick Green each had two hits and an RBI in the loss, Miami's fifth straight and 12th in its last 14 outings.

The White Sox went in front to stay with a two-run bottom of the second that snapped a 2-2 tie. Viciedo started things off with a ground-rule double and Hector Gimenez drew a two-out walk to extend the inning for De Aza, who drove a Sanabia fastball to the base of the wall in left-center to bring home both runners with a double.

Axelrod walked the first two hitters in the third, however, with Juan Pierre later crossing the plate on an Ozuna groundout to cut Miami's deficit to 4-3. The right-hander was sharp over the remainder of his stint, though, yielding just a pair of singles before being removed with one on and one out in the sixth.

Matt Lindstrom came on in relief with Ozuna on second and was greeted by a single to right by Ruggiano, but Rios preserved Chicago's one-run edge by firing a strike to home to Gimenez, who applied the tag on Ozuna as the rookie slid past the plate.

"Why everything's got to be a sweep of the hand or a diving, sliding on your butt ... I don't know if that looks better on TV or what," a frustrated Marlins manager Mike Redmond said of Ozuna's failed slide attempt. "I was always just taught to slide straight into home plate and if you go in hard, you're going to be safe."

Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain kept the game at 4-3 with a scoreless inning of work each, and Chicago got some insurance when De Aza doubled in the eighth and came around on a Rios single.

The Marlins then went down quietly against Addison Reed in the ninth, with the Sox closer striking out two en route to his 17th save of the season.

With Alexei Ramirez aboard, Dunn ended an 0-for-17 skid with an opposite-field blast into the seats in left to stake Chicago to an early 2-0 lead that was short-lived after the Marlins countered with a pair of runs in the top of the second.

Three straight singles by Ozuna, Chris Coghlan and Ruggiano accounted for the initial score, though Coghlan was gunned down by Viciedo on Ruggiano's hit to left. Green then drove in Ruggiano with another single two batters afterward.

Game Notes

Ozuna has now hit safely in 11 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Marlins player this season ... Gimenez was in the lineup in place of Tyler Flowers, who sat out a third straight game due to back spasms ... Marlins second baseman Derek Dietrich, who reached base safely in his first 14 major league games, had that stretch end after going 0-for-4 ... Nineteen of the White Sox' last 23 games have been decided by three runs or less, with the club going 13-6 in those matchups.