Quentin, Sox walk off into the night

Welcome to national prominence, Carlos Quentin.

The White Sox rookie ingrained himself on the nation's sports consciousness Sunday night by hitting a pair of home runs, including a game-winning solo shot to lead off the ninth inning that gave the Sox a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in front of an ESPN audience.

When he strode to the plate to lead off the ninth, Quentin said his goal was more modest than sending 36,195 fans home with one swing.

More Coverage Links Quentin an All-Star? "To get on base," Quentin said of his only aspiration. "I was looking for a pitch that, hopefully, I could drive. I wasn't trying to do anything too big there. Fortunately I got a pitch, I hit it, the ball carried, and here we are right now."It was an awesome experience. I was very fortunate tonight to do it, and it was something I'll always remember."Quentin's 3-for-3, 3-RBI night made a winner of Scott Linebrink (2-0), who pitched a scoreless ninth. But the Sox would not have been in position for Quentin's heroics had it not been for the gem turned in by the ageless Jose Contreras.The veteran held the Angels to 2 runs on 3 hits in 8 innings and struck out 10 for the fourth time in his career.He threw his only regrettable pitch in the fourth inning to Gary Matthews Jr., who turned on it for a 2-run homer that tied the game."That was probably my best game," Contreras said. "I was hitting both sides of the plate. I just made one mistake to Matthews and he hit out. But my curveball was on, my slider was on, and I was locating my fastball."Contreras' biggest test came in the seventh. He allowed a leadoff double to Garrett Anderson, who doubled to left field despite a tumbling attempt by Quentin that earned him an ovation from Sox fans for the effort.But Contreras kept the Angels from scoring by sawing off cleanup hitter Torii Hunter, who hit a harmless popup to second base. Cleanup hitter Casey Kotchman then popped to A.J. Pierzynski in foul ground.A wild pitch allowed Anderson to take third, but Contreras struck out Mike Napoli on a fastball, his seventh pitch of the at-bat and 91st of the night."It was a great inning in total," Contreras said of the seventh. "I think it gave great motivation to the team."Quentin's 2 home runs, including a 2-run shot in the third that staked the Sox to the early lead, allowed the rest of the Sox' offense to wriggle off the hook. The rest of the lineup managed 3 hits combined against Lackey, and the White Sox finished the homestand with a batting average of .214 (39-for-182)."I cannot wait until those guys start helping," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Quentin's teammates. "You know our ballclub is pretty heavy and this guy is kind of carrying the load. Those guys have to start hitting the ball better and help this kid win some games."White Sox 3, Angels 2 On the mound: Jose Contreras went 8 strong innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits. He struck out 10 without issuing a walk and lowered his ERA to 3.06. Scott Linebrink pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win.At the plate: Carlos Quentin went 3-for-3 with 2 home runs, a 2-run homer in the third inning and a game-winning solo blast to lead off the ninth. Orlando Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a double, but the rest of the lineup finished 1-for-21.Scouting reportWhite Sox vs. Cleveland Indians at Progressive FieldTV: Today and Wednesday Comcast SportsNet; Tuesday Channel 26Radio: WSCR 670-AMPitching matchups: The White Sox' Javier Vazquez (5-3) vs. Paul Byrd (2-4) today at 6:05 p.m.; Mark Buehrle (2-6) vs. Aaron Laffey (2-3) Tuesday at 6:05 p.m.; Gavin Floyd (4-3) vs. Jake Westbrook (1-2) Wednesday at 11:05 a.m.At a glance: Cleveland placed pitcher Fausto Carmona on the 15-day disabled list Saturday after he injured his hip covering first base against Texas on Friday. Westbrook comes off the disabled list to take Carmona's turn in the rotation Wednesday; he missed a month with a strained left intercostal muscle. The Sox are 4-2 against Cleveland following last week's sweep in Chicago. The Sox are 12-7 against the AL Central. The Indians have lost 8 of 9.Next: At Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, Thursday-Sunday