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Floyd keeps the faith and puts it all together

Gavin Floyd has always had the arm - it's the reason the Philadelphia Phillies made him the No. 4 overall pick in the 2001 draft.

When his mind and body are disconnected, Floyd has had his problems.

And that pretty much explains why the White Sox' starting pitcher entered Saturday's interleague game against the Marlins with a 1-4 record and the third-highest ERA (7.00) in the American League.

"He has the stuff to win 20 games," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It's about making him believe that."

Floyd finally put it all together against Florida, pitching 61/3 innings and allowing 1 run on 6 hits to win for the first time since April 29.

"I felt like I had better focus today," Floyd said. "I just broke it down to pitch by pitch. Whatever happens, I just trust in God that he is in control."

It looked like another poor outing was in the works with two outs in the first inning when Floyd walked Hanley Ramirez and gave up a single to Jorge Cantu.

But the 27-year-old right-hander got Dan Uggla to ground out and he was in control from there.

"I had confidence in myself, and I feel like I go out there and just try to battle," Floyd said. "Sometimes it doesn't happen the way you want it to happen, and you just have to trust that everything will be OK. You just try to get people out and battle."

Guillen said Floyd started attacking the strike zone again, which is critical to his success.

"I think in second inning, he started to throw the ball the way we know he can throw the ball," Guillen said. "He had more confidence and he let the ball go. He was in the strike zone. And when Gavin throws his breaking ball for a strike, this kid has good stuff. He's all about don't lose any concentration and believe in himself. It's what he did from the second inning on."