Sox take 10th straight at home with 6-5 comeback win

When Bobby Jenks first came out of the bullpen, he heard mostly cheers from the crowd of 25,126 at U.S. Cellular Field.

But there were a few boos mixed in, no doubt the result of the two games the closer lost on the White Sox' last road trip.

Needing to prove himself, again, and protect a 6-5 lead over the Mariners in the ninth inning, Jenks did both.

And as he struck out the side - predominantly with fastballs that were all clocked between 97-99 mph - Jenks received a rousing ovation after the Sox won their 10th straight at the Cell.

Angry last week after apparently losing his job, Jenks wasn't exactly breathing a sigh of relief while recording his 21st save of the season.

"I try not to get involved too much in what goes on behind the doors," Jenks said. "All I know is that I've got to continuously keep proving myself and I've just got to go out there and let my pitching do the talking."

Jenks simply overpowered Seattle, and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tried explaining the awkward situation after the game.

"You know what? Maybe the people were confused, or he was confused from what was out there, people saying he wasn't the closer," Guillen said. "We did this thing with Bobby in the past and I think our pitching coach (Don Cooper) and myself know what we're doing, we've had Bobby for 5, 6, 7 years. I know what kind of guy he is.

"We're dealing with a lot of stuff with him. We're behind him 100 percent, not because he saved this game today. The reason he was there is because I have confidence in him. From the day he blew the save, I don't think we had another save situation until today. We know when Bobby's right. We know when Bobby can do what he can do."

While losing at Minnesota and Seattle last week, Jenks was burned badly when his off-speed pitches didn't bite. He went back to the fastball Wednesday and looked a lot like his old self.

"The velocity was up there, he was dominating," said White Sox starter Mark Buehrle. "He had two bad games. It (stinks) for a closer or a bullpen to go out there and have one bad inning and everyone kind of wants your head, you're losing your job. I think everybody has confidence in him. He has to go out there and continue to do what he's doing now."

The Sox continued their impressive run at home, winning for the 17th time in 18 games.

They fell behind 3-0 and 5-1 but rallied with home runs from their three hottest hitters - Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez and Paul Konerko.

"I think we're really playing good ball, and to go out there and be down like we were tonight, I don't feel like anyone ever panicked," Beckham said. "We stayed focused, went out there and won the game. The whole game, I felt like we were going to win that game."

Scot Gregor's game trackerWhite Sox 6, Mariners 5Jenks is back: After losing two games on the Sox' last road trip, closer Bobby Jenks got the save. He also recorded his first perfect inning with 3 strikeouts since Sept. 2, 2006 (at Kansas City).Red-hot Ramirez: Alexei Ramirez was 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a perfect sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning to set up the deciding run. Ramirez has 10 hits in his last 15 at-bats.Bump for Buehrle: Starter Mark Buehrle lasted just 5 innings and allowed 5 runs on 9 hits. It was the first time the left-hander gave up more than 3 runs since June 6.False501512White Sox designated hitter for a day Alex Rios hits an RBI single off Mariners relief pitcher Brandon League, putting the Sox up 6-5, during the seventh inning.Associated PressFalse