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Quentin leads White Sox's power display in win over Royals

Jun 4, 2008 - 6:19 AM By Gene Chamberlain PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Perhaps it would benefit the Chicago White Sox if manager Ozzie Guillen made threats about lineup and roster changes regularly.

Guillen's threatened lineup shakeup and call for general manager Kenny Williams to make roster changes certainly didn't prove unhealthy for the White Sox, who blasted four home runs off Kansas City starter Zack Greinke in a 9-5 victory Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Field.

Carlos Quentin's two-run first-inning home run and A.J. Pierzynski's two-run second-inning shot started the White Sox off to a 6-0 lead. Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez hit solo shots in the sixth.

"We know we have guys who can hit and we believe we're going to hit from here until the end of the year," Pierzynski said.

Frustration over three straight losses and a 5-for-39 effort with runners in scoring position during a four-game series with Tampa Bay led Guillen to explode in a postgame tirade Sunday.

"It is not healthy for myself, believe me," Guillen said. "It's not healthy."

However, Williams made no roster moves and Guillen merely moved cleanup hitter Jermaine Dye down to sixth in the order and Paul Konerko from sixth to fourth.

"I just think it's one of those things," said Swisher, who has struggled with six hits in his last 35 at-bats. "Ozzie is one of those guys who loves this team. He cares so much about this team. He wants us to do well.

"It might have been that nice kick in the pants we needed."

The four home runs matched a season high and helped make a winner of Gavin Floyd (6-3), who allowed four runs - two earned - and six hits without a walk in seven innings. The righthander struck out four and did not yield an earned run until Mark Teahen's two-run homer in the seventh.

"I've had games where I've been up early and they get runs, but you just try to keep it to zero," Floyd said. "The offense today was great. We put up a lot of runs. We were taking good at-bats and I just tried to keep them to zero and let the bullpen take care of it after."

Quentin's two-run shot was his team-high 15th of the season but his first since the White Sox left Chicago on May 25 for a seven-game road trip.

In the second, Joe Crede singled and Ramirez doubled before Orlando Cabrera plated both with a single up the middle against a drawn-in infield for a 4-0 lead. Pierzynski homered for the first time since April 22 later in the inning to make it 6-0.

The White Sox had only nine games at home in May and are in the midst of a stretch where they play 26 games over the next 32 days in Chicago.

Pierzynski thinks the home cooking might have helped liven his teammates' bats.

"It seemed like we were just gone for the whole month of May, it was like we were on a constant road trip," Pierzynski said. "It's going to be nice. It's nice to have people cheering for you.

"It's nice when you come home and you have familiar surroundings, familiar restaurants, a familiar bed; you see the people you know every day and they're supporting you."

After Swisher's fifth homer of the season and Ramirez's solo shot, Greinke departed after surrendering a season-high nine hits with just three strikeouts.

"He was up and out over the plate," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "He had trouble getting the ball going downhill.

"It wasn't just his fastball, it was his breaking balls as well. He didn't do as good a job getting it going downhill. There's no other way to say it."

Kansas City scored two unearned runs in the third after an error by second baseman Ramirez allowed leadoff hitter Joey Gathright on reach. Gathright later scored on David DeJesus' single, and Tony Pena Jr. crossed the plate on a double-play grounder by Alex Gordon.

Gordon added an RBI single in the eighth off Octavio Dotel.

DeJesus had three hits for the Royals, while Pierzynski and Ramirez each collected three for the White Sox.

Prior to the game, Guillen met with Williams. His comments after Sunday's game had been construed in many circles to be throwing his GM under the bus by demanding him to make changes.

"I think people misinterpreted what I say," Guillen said. "I mean, I never demand my kids to do anything. You think I'm going to demand my boss to do anything?"

It wasn't clear whether Williams had accepted this explanation.

White Sox media personnel had said Williams also would address the media prior to the game, but he did not show.

Asked if he had made certain Williams understood that he hadn't meant to be critical of his boss, Guillen said it was "as clear as it can be."