Danks outduels Grienke as Sox with 7th straight
One of Friday's starting pitchers had the look of a potential American League all-star.
It wasn't Kansas City ace Zack Greinke, but Whie Sox lefty John Danks, who rolled his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 19 in a 5-0 whitewashing of the Royals.
Danks (7-6) surrendered just 5 hits and no walks in 71/3 innings. His season ERA, which was over 5.00 less than a month ago, fell to 3.76.
"When he throws his breaking ball for a strike, that's the kind of game you have," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
The White Sox (42-38), meanwhile, stretched their winning streak to seven.
"I think the ball's bouncing our way right now," Guillen added. "We have to keep the ball bouncing this way as long as we can."
After cruising through 7 innings, Danks finally left with one out in the eighth after 2 singles and an error loaded the bases. Scott Linebrink kept the shutout alive by coaxing a double-play ground ball from Kansas City's Alberto Callaspo on a 3-1 pitch.
The Sox jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. A.J. Pierzynski had 3 hits, including a solo home run in the second inning. Scott Podsednik went 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored.
Podsednik is hitting .533 against Greinke over his career, while Pierzynski is at .432 against the right-hander.
"Podsednik and Pierzynski, I just can't get those two out," Greinke said. "They hit everything. It happens every time. Pierzynski was cheating for a first-pitch fastball and got it. If I'd thrown him anything else, he probably would have taken it."
The Sox picked up a couple of unearned runs in the third. After Podsednik doubled and Jermaine Dye walked, Podsednik scored on a two-out error at second base by Callaspo. Paul Konerko followed with a double, scoring Dye and making it 3-0.
Gordon Beckham doubled in the fourth and scored on a Dewayne Wise single. Jim Thome added an RBI single in the seventh to make it 5-0.
In his first 2 starts against the Sox this season, Greinke (10-4) didn't allow an earned run in 15 innings. The Sox tagged him for 3 earned runs in a no-decision at Kansas City on May 31.
Since that day, Greinke has been fading. In his last 6 starts, he's 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA. That's good for most pitchers, but Greinke was 8-1 with a 1.10 ERA on May 31.
White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez missed his second game Friday with a bruised finger.
Mike McGraw's game tracker
Danks again: Left-hander John Danks stayed on a roll, increasing his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 19 while blanking Kansas City 5-0.
Waste of ace: Royals pitcher Zack Greinke stoned the Sox twice early this season, but was tagged with a loss Friday after giving up 9 hits and 4 runs (2 unearned) in 6 innings.
Sox hit parade: The visitors pounded out 12 hits in the victory. A.J. Pierzynski went 3-for-4 with a solo home run. Scott Podsednik was 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored.