Floyd struggles in Sox loss

LOS ANGELES - After snapping their nine-game road losing streak Tuesday night with an impressive 6-1 interleague victory over the Dodgers, the White Sox were looking for more success.

"We really needed that win,'' Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said on his pregame radio show. "But it's only one game. We've got to keep it going as long as we can.''

So what happened?

The White Sox came out against Los Angeles on Wednesday night looking much like the team that has been struggling away from home during the entire month of June.

Los Angeles defeated the White Sox 5-0.

The White Sox threatened Dodgers starter Eric Stults in the first inning, as A.J. Pierzynski singled with one out and Jermaine Dye singled with two outs, moving Pierzynski to third base.

Nick Swisher flew out to center field to end the inning.

Los Angeles, which was shut down by starting pitcher Mark Buehrle in the series opener, got to Gavin Floyd early Wednesday with the help of some sloppy defense by the Sox.

Juan Pierre led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and stole second base. A throwing error by Pierzynski on the steal moved Pierre to third base, and he scored on Andre Ethier's single.

Jeff Kent followed with a deep drive to right field that deflected off Dye's glove for an error, and Russell Martin's single scored Ethier to make it 2-0.

Floyd escaped further trouble in the first inning, but Los Angeles scored 3 more runs in the fourth on Blake DeWitt's 2-run double and Stults' sacrifice fly.

The Dodgers knocked Floyd out of the game in the sixth inning after loading the bases with one out. Matt Thornton relieved Floyd and got out of the jam by striking out Stults and getting Pierre to ground into a fielder's choice.

White Sox third baseman Joe Crede missed his second straight game with a sore lower back. Crede said it's just normal soreness and he expects to play this afternoon when the Sox and the Dodgers wrap up the three-game series.

"This is more stiffness, and last year was more sharp pains radiating down the leg,'' Crede told reporters before the game. "It was just back stiffness, that's all, I think from the plane ride or just a combination of things. It feels a lot better today.''