Teahen, Jones power Sox past Blue Jays

Posted April 12, 2010 11:00 pm

TORONTO - Mark Teahen spoiled Toronto's home opener. His Canadian relatives were just fine with that.

Teahen tripled home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and the White Sox beat the Blue Jays 8-7 on Monday night, snapping Toronto's five-game winning streak.

"It's been a long week so it was nice to contribute," said Teahen, who was 1-for-14 coming in. "It was a really good team win tonight so it was just fun to be a part of that, finally."

Mark Kotsay led off the 11th with a pinch-hit single off Jeremy Accardo (0-1) and was replaced by pinch runner Omar Vizquel. Teahen followed with a triple to right center.

Teahen has dual Canadian-American citizenship because his father is from St. Mary's, Ontario. The town about 100 miles west of Toronto is home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Teahen had about 10 relatives at Monday's game.

"Earlier in my life I couldn't get up here as much as I liked because I played too much baseball," Teahen said. "It's nice that now baseball is affording me the opportunity to see that side of my family."

Teahen, who tied the game with a ninth-inning homer off Jason Frasor, finished 3-for55 with 3 RBI. He also singled home a run in the sixth.

"Teahen was huge," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "The basehit to left field late in the game and then the home run, a big game for him. Hopefully that's the beginning of a good start."

Teahen said he tried to stay loose at the plate because he'd felt too tense during the first week, and managed to keep his composure after falling behind 0-2 against Frasor.

"I'd taken two fastballs that were very hittable and then he threw a split, then went back to the fastball that last pitch," Teahen said. "I guess I set him up by not hitting the first two that he threw over the plate."

Matt Thornton (1-0) worked 2 scoreless innings and Bobby Jenks pitched around a pair of two-out walks, getting Adam Lind to strike out and earning his second save.

The White Sox snapped a 10-game losing streak in Toronto, winning here for the first time since June 1, 2007.

"I didn't know they had music in this clubhouse," Guillen said. "I'd never heard it."

Andruw Jones hit his first 2 home runs of the season off Toronto left-hander Brian Tallet, giving him 390 for his career and moving him into a tie with Graig Nettles for 50th on baseball's career list.

Jones opened the scoring with a 2-run shot in the second off Tallet, tying him with Johnny Bench, then added a solo drive in the sixth, giving him his 38th career multihomer game.

"I want them to give me a headache when I make the lineup," Guillen said. "I don't want to try digging through players, trying to make a lineup that can hit. If you hit, you're going to be in the lineup somewhere."

John Buck answered Jones' first homer with a two-run blast in the bottom of the second that landed in the fourth deck in left.

Jones and Carlos Quentin each hit RBI singles in the top of the third but Toronto scored four in the bottom half. Lind hit a two-run single and Vernon Wells followed with a 2-run homer to center, his fifth.

After Jones' leadoff homer cut it to 6-5 in the sixth, former Blue Jay Alex Rios singled, stole second and scored on Teahen's two-out hit, tying it at 6-6.

Lind drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk off reliever Randy Williams in the bottom half, but the Blue Jays couldn't hold the lead as Frasor blew his second save of the season.

"It's my nature to think about it a little bit," Frasor said. "It's hard not to. But I won't be watching sports highlights tonight, that's for sure."

Tallet allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Jake Peavy allowed 7 runs and 8 hits in 52/3 innings, raising his ERA to 8.44 after 2 starts. He walked three and struck out two.

"I felt OK, I just didn't execute very well," Peavy said. "I got ahead of guys at times, I just didn't have enough stuff to put guys away."

Rios was booed or jeered every time he came to the plate or made a play. He grinned and slapped hands with manager Ozzie Guillen when he was booed during the pregame introductions, then turned from side to side and tipped his cap as he took his place along the first base line. He finished 3-for-5 with a stolen base.

"Can Chicago people start booing Rios, please?" Guillen asked jokingly. "They boo him here and he got 3 hits. They were clapping for him in Chicago and he was hitting .180."

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and reliever Bobby Jenks celebrate after the White Sox spoiled the Blue Jays' home opener with an 8-7 decision in 11 innings Monday. Associated Press

White Sox game tracker

White Sox 8, Blue Jays 7 (11)

It's ova: The win snapped the Sox' 10-game losing streak in Toronto dating all the way back to June of 2007.

It's alive: The White Sox offense, that is. After a week of dormancy, Sox' bats were booming Monday, particularly those of Andruw Jones (2 home runs) and Mark Teahen (3-for-5, 3 RBI, including the game-winner).

It's troubling: As good as the offense was, it was yet another shaky outing for starter Jake Peavy, who allowed 8 hits and 7 earned runs in 52/3 innings.

- Mike Spellman