A.J.'s 10th-inning RBI single gives Sox 7th win in a row

DETROIT - The way it's looking right now, the White Sox are going to sweep Minnesota in next week's three-game showdown series at U.S. Cellular Field.

And the Twins are going to sweep the Sox.

In what's shaping up as a great race in the AL Central, neither team has budged during the past week. Neither team ever seems to lose.

The trend continued Monday.

Not long after A.J. Pierzynski singled home the deciding run in the 10th inning and rookie relief pitcher Chris Sale delivered another brilliant outing in the White Sox' 5-4 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park, Minnesota held serve with a narrow victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals to maintain its 31/2-game lead.

The Sox, meanwhile, aren't overly discouraged about winning seven straight on a road trip that started at Cleveland last Monday and gaining just 1 game on the first-place Twins.

"I don't think they even think about us, to be honest with you," manager Ozzie Guillen said when asked if the Twins are wary of the surging White Sox. "They worry about their game; they play their game.

"We're the ones that have to worry about them; we're behind them. In the meanwhile, make sure we concentrate on one game at a time and see what happens."

In their latest win, the Sox looked to be in trouble when they trailed 4-3 with two outs in the eighth inning. Then again, they trailed Boston 5-3 in the ninth inning Sunday and stormed back for a 7-5 victory.

"We're just finding ways to win games," Pierzynski said. "We're battling; we're not giving at-bats away. Nobody's panicking. Everyone's sticking with their plan. It was a great win."

Pinch hitter Alexei Ramirez's single in the eighth scored pinch runner Brent Lillibridge from second base to tie it, and Pierzynski came through with a big hit in the 10th to score Alejandro De Aza from second.

Manny Ramirez led off the 10th inning with a single and advanced to second base on an error by left fielder Ryan Raburn before being replaced on the bases by De Aza.

Ramirez was 3-for-5, and the White Sox are 7-0 since claiming the 38-year-old designated hitter off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"We had Manny in the lineup and we didn't have (Alex) Rios, (Alexei) Ramirez and (Paul) Konerko, and the lineup still looked good," Guillen said. "That's one thing that's a plus to have. Manny just got here at the right time.

"We're playing well, pitching well, and he's contributing big time. That's what we got him for. We don't need him to carry this ballclub. He can't; he's too old to be carrying ballclubs. We got him here to help us win this thing."

The Sox might have lost the game if Brandon Inge's 2-run homer to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning held up, but it was clearly foul despite third-base umpire Tony Randazzo's initial call to the contrary.

Once the ruling was reviewed and overturned, rookie reliever Chris Sale struck out Inge and went on to record his first major-league win.

"At first off the bat, I was like, 'Oh, boy, this is bad. This is not good,'" Sale said of Inge's long foul ball.

"Then, I saw where it went foul. Pierzynski was back there and was asking if it was fair or foul and it was way foul. They went back and reviewed it and it was big. Thank God it didn't catch fair."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p>

<p class="News"><b>A.J. is OK:</b> While going 2-for-5 and extending his hitting streak to 13 games, catcher A.J. Pierzynski's RBI single in the 10th inning lifted the Sox to 7-0 on the road trip.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Sale on:</b> Chris Sale pitched 22/3 perfect innings while recording his first major-league win and lowering his ERA to 0.66.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Manny watch:</b> Manny Ramirez was 3-for-5. Since joining the White Sox last Wednesday, Ramirez is 7-for-16. All of his hits have been singles.</p>

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