White Sox hold on for 6-5 win against Toronto

The final score was a little closer than the White Sox wanted, but the end result was all that mattered.

"We've got to find a way to win," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said after the Sox did just that with a 6-5 decision over the high-flying Blue Jays on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field. "You wish they weren't 1-run games, but you have to find a way to get through it, and we did."

Holding a comfortable 6-2 edge in the ninth inning, the White Sox had to sweat it out as Toronto rallied for 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk against Bobby Jenks before the closer struck out Alex Rios to end the game.

While snapping the Jays' winning streak at 10, the Sox maintained their 1-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central.

Considering they handled Toronto ace Roy Halladay with a makeshift lineup while beating the Jays for the first time in seven tries this season, the White Sox were feeling pretty good about themselves after the game.

"To me, he has some of the best stuff in the game," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Halladay. "We didn't chase that many bad pitches. And he left a couple in the strike zone and we took advantage."

With Carlos Quentin, Joe Crede and Paul Konerko sidelined with injuries, the Sox were lacking their usual pop.

But they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on run-scoring singles from Jim Thome and Pierzynski, and they opened up a 5-0 advantage in the sixth when Pierzynski drove in 2 more runs with a double off Halladay and Jerry Owens dropped down a perfect suicide-squeeze bunt to score Pierzynski.

Another reserve - Brian Anderson - continued the small-ball motif with an RBI single in the eighth inning that turned out to be the difference.

The White Sox posted their highest run total for a game without hitting a home run since May 21 of last season, when they scored 8 against the Oakland Athletics.

"It's a different lineup," Guillen said. "Those (bench) guys have a lot of speed, but if you don't get on base you can't do anything. They got on base in big situations, and they played well."

Owens got a standing ovation from the crowd of 26,198 after executing the squeeze play.

"My goal every day is to come here and if I'm in the lineup try to do what I know how to do," Owens said. "I just want to help."

Sox starter Mark Buehrle needed all the help he could get against Halladay, and the offense came through.

So did Buehrle.

"When you go up against a guy like that, you can't give up too many runs because it's hard to come back," Buehrle said. "To get those 2 runs early was big. I felt good, and we had a fresh bullpen. It's their job to come in there at the end."

Octavio Dotel relieved Buehrle with one on and one out in the eighth inning and promptly served up a home run to Rios.

The Jays also jumped on Jenks, but the big right-hander came up big when it counted.

"They booed Dotel, but they didn't boo Bobby," Guillen observed. "That's kind of weird."

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