Sox' starters stay on a roll

When starting pitcher Jose Contreras went down with a career-threatening torn Achilles' tendon on Saturday, there was concern the rest of the White Sox would follow.

"We can't sit down and feel sorry for ourselves because we lost some players," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I think all of a sudden the guys have stepped it up and done their jobs."

Guillen was generally talking about the Sox, specifically about the starting rotation.

Gavin Floyd followed Contreras on Sunday and pitched well enough to beat the Red Sox.

John Danks started against Boston the following day and had a no-hitter for 6 innings before taking a tough loss.

On Tuesday, Javier Vazquez stepped up and pitched 8 shutout innings in a 9-0 win over the Royals.

On Wednesday night, it was Mark Buehrle's turn.

"Everybody needs to step it up," Buehrle said after throwing 7 scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over Kansas City at U.S. Cellular Field. "Starting pitching, bullpen, offense, everybody needs to kind of get things going because, obviously, we know what's at stake and Minnesota's not going anywhere."

With the Twins knocking off the Yankees earlier Wednesday, the Sox knew they had to beat the Royals again to maintain their half-game lead in the AL Central.

Thanks to an early surge against K.C starter Luke Hochevar and Buehrle's solid outing, the Sox got the job done.

"It was a good night all around,'' said catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who helped the White Sox take a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a key sacrifice bunt.

"Back-to-back shutouts, that's just good pitching. Javy pitched really good last night and obviously, Mark pitched great tonight."

Buehrle (10-10) didn't feel great warming up before the game, but that's usually a good sign.

"It was just one of those things where in the bullpen, I didn't feel like I had anything," Buehrle said. "But I'll take the results."

When Buehrle faced the Royals in Kansas City on Aug. 2, it was one of the worst starts of his prolific career.

Pitching in brutal weather conditions (111 degree heat index), Buehrle wilted early and wound up allowing 8 runs on 14 hits in 4 innings.

The veteran left-hander said he didn't use the disastrous outing as motivation.

"They're going to happen and you've got to throw them out," Buehrle said.

"You're not going to get anywhere by thinking about your last start or what happened the last time against these guys."

Newcomer Ken Griffey Jr., battiner a meager .185 since joining the Sox in a July 31 trade from the Reds, collected an an RBI single against the Royals and he also made a nice catch on Miguel Olivio's sinking liner in the second inning.

"It's hard when there's a trade and you put a lot of pressure on yourself," Guillen said. "The last couple games, he's been swinging the bat a lot better."

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