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Dye, White Sox outlast Yankees

Aug 2, 2007 - 10:27 PM BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Wins haven't come easy for the Chicago White Sox all year, and this victory was no different.

Jermaine Dye went 4-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI as the White Sox escaped with a 13-9 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday afternoon.

Paul Konerko added a solo home run and drove in two for the White Sox, who won despite allowing the Yankees to erase an 8-0 deficit.

"I'm proud of this club for the way we keep fighting back, but we gave up too much today," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

An afterthought for the postseason at this point with a 49-59 record, Chicago plated eight runs in the top of the second inning before allowing the Yankees to tie the game in the bottom of the frame.

New York's Alex Rodriguez broke out of a career-worst 0-for-22 slump with two hits and drove in a run during the outburst, but was held without a home run and remains one blast shy of 500 for his career.

"(The Yankee Stadium crowd support has) been awesome. They're really into it," Rodriguez said. "But the most important thing is for us to win games, and we let one slip away today."

There was no power outage for Dye, who restored Chicago's lead with a two-run shot off reliever Jeff Karstens in the fourth. Dye's 21st home run of the season in the eighth off Kyle Farnsworth, moments after Konerko's 23rd longball, capped the White Sox scoring.

"I'm getting into a groove," Dye said. "Going up there, putting everything behind me, and just trying to have good at bats."

Dye, Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski - the Nos. 4-6 hitters - finished a combined 9-for-15 with three home runs and eight RBI. Lefthander Boone Logan (2-0), who took over for starter Jon Garland in the second inning, picked up the win after pitching two scoreless innings.

The game appeared to be a laugher early on, as the White Sox took advantage of sloppy play and an ineffective start by Roger Clemens.

After back-to-back singles by Konerko and Pierzynski to start the inning, Dye delivered an RBI double to center field. Darin Erstad and Juan Uribe kept the wheels turning with RBI singles, before Clemens got a flyout for the first out.

It appeared Clemens would escape the inning when Jerry Owens hit a potential double-play ball, but second baseman Robinson Cano bobbled the ball and gave the White Sox new life with the bases loaded.

Alex Cintron followed with a soft grounder in front of the plate, and Clemens reached the ball in time to record a forceout at home plate. But that would be the last out the future Hall of Famer would get.

Jim Thome hit a two-run single, Konerko connected for an RBI double and Pierzynski drove in two more with a single to open up an 8-0 lead.

Clemens allowed another double to Dye before giving way to Mike Myers, who walked Erstad and was promptly replaced by Karstens. Uribe's groundout brought a merciful end to the inning.

"Early on, Clemens' ball was up," Torre said. "When he started to make better pitches, we just couldn't catch the ball. They got five or six outs in that (second) inning, which certainly contributed."

Clemens, who turns 45 on Saturday, allowed eight runs - only three earned - and nine hits in just 1 2/3 innings. It was his shortest outing since June 14, 2000, when he left a start against the Boston Red Sox after one inning due to a groin injury.

Karstens (0-2) allowed three runs, five hits and did not walk a batter while striking out one in 3 1/3 innings.

The Yankees roared back to tie the game in the bottom of the frame, marking the first time in major league history that two teams had each scored eight or more runs in the second inning.

After a seemingly harmless RBI double by Cano off starter Jon Garland, newly-acquired Wilson Betemit belted a three-run homer in his first at-bat as a Yankee to cut Chicago's lead in half.

"I'm not angry with any of the pitches I threw," Garland said. "They hit some good pitches. Tip your cap. There's not much you can do about it."

Betemit, who hit 10 home runs with the Los Angeles Dodgers before coming to New York via a trade on Tuesday, was playing in place of resting Yankees' captain Derek Jeter, who struck out swinging as a pinch hitter in the seventh.

The deficit was cut to 8-6 later in the inning on RBI hits by Bobby Abreu and Rodriguez. Logan replaced Garland and recorded the second out of the inning before Jorge Posada completed the comeback with a two-run ground-rule double.

The Yankees catcher, who left the game in the eighth inning with a bruised knee, will hate to see the White Sox leave town, as he was 8-for-13 with three home runs and seven RBI in this three-game set.

The affair lasted 3 hours, 59 minutes and combined with mid-90s temperatures to take a toll on both teams.

Thome left the game in the fourth inning with back spasms, Erstad departed after six innings with an apparent leg cramp and Cintron was removed in the seventh with an upset stomach.

None of the ailments, including Posada's knee bruise, are considered serious.