Buehrle, White Sox beat Cubs 2-1

Posted June 11, 2010 11:00 pm

By Joe Aguilar

A little old-school baseball by Juan Pierre and some vintage Mark Buehrle parlayed into something new for the White Sox.

Their first four-game winning streak of the season.

Buehrle pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in three weeks, and a savvy steal by Pierre turned out to be the deciding run in the White Sox's 2-1 victory over the Cubs in front of 40,397 Saturday at overcast Wrigley Field.

"That's the Buehrle of old," Pierre said. "That's the one I remember facing. Quick outs, working both sides of the plate, good changeup. He definitely was on it. He worked a quick-paced game. That's what I'm accustomed to seeing on the other side."

Buehrle and three relievers struck out a combined 11 batters in handing the Cubs their third straight loss while dropping them to a season-low eight games under .500 (27-35).

Buehrle's effort followed quality starts by Jake Peavy, John Danks, Freddy Garcia and Gavin Floyd.

"It's all about pitching," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Buehrle went out there and threw an incredible ballgame, and our bullpen came out and did a tremendous job."

"I hope we can continue it," Buehrle said after throwing 71 of his 108 pitches for strikes over 62/3 innings "That's how we were supposed to be pitching. That's how we expected to come out of spring training. We know the offense is going to score runs.

"They're not going to score some games, but the starting staff hasn't been doing their job. So hopefully this is a start."

Pierre stole his major-league-leading 25th base in the seventh with none out and the White Sox leading 1-0.

With Alexei Ramirez at bat and Pierre on first after a leadoff walk issued by Cubs starter Carlos Silva, Pierre took off for second. The Cubs pitched out, and catcher Geovany Soto's throw arrived in plenty of time. But Pierre used a swim move to elude the tag of shortstop Starlin Castro and was called safe by umpire Kerwin Danley.

"I saw that they pitched out because I peeked in because there was 2 strikes on Ramirez," Pierre said. "I was like, 'Oh, (no).' I was about halfway when (Castro) was getting the ball. Then I saw where he was. It's hard to explain. Instincts take over and you go and try to do anything you can to maneuver."

Cubs manager Lou Piniella came out to question the call, but he was more subdued than demonstrative.

"We didn't get the runner," Piniella said. "What are you going to do?"

Pierre has used the move before, saying it's something he learned when he was young.

"I saw where (Danley) was set up and he was in perfect position to see it," said Pierre, who's closing in on 500 career steals (484). "It was a good call. If I were on the other side I would have been mad, too, but he did make the correct call."

Chalk it up as another lesson for the Cubs' 20-year-old shortstop.

"He tried to come back and get me," Pierre said of Castro. "Most veteran guys just swipe and keep going. Usually the (in-the) ballpark tag works."

With two outs, Paul Konerko dropped a single into right-center, scoring Pierre.

The Cubs chose to pitch to Konerko with struggling Carlos Quentin on deck and first base open. Konerko already had 2 hits, including a run-scoring single in the first.

"When you walk to the plate, you never want to think they're going to intentionally walk you because if they don't, you feel like you're not prepared," Konerko said. "I was locked in on having a tough at-bat.

"It was a battle. It wasn't like I smoked that ball."

The run proved large after Bobby Jenks surrendered a two-out RBI single to Ryan Theriot in the ninth.

Buehrle, who worked out of jams in the first and fourth, struck out a season-high seven in his best outing since pitching 8 innings in a win against Florida on May 21.

"That was a big one for him," Guillen said. "Lately he's struggled to find the plate."

Silva (8-1) suffered his first loss as a Cub, despite turning in his eighth quality start in 11 outings. He yielded 2 runs over 7 innings, throwing 81 of his 123 pitches for strikes.

He was looking to become the first Cubs starter to begin a season 9-0 since Ken Holtzman in 1967.

"Yeah, he pitched well, he really did," Piniella said. "He gave us a real good ballgame. We just didn't score any runs. I don't know. We didn't do too well with men in scoring position."

Joe Aguilar's game tracker

White Sox 2, Cubs 1

Lovin' Wrigley: White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, extending his hitting streak at Wrigley Field to 17 games.

Byrd is the word: Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd went 3-for-4 with a double, extending his hitting streak to a season-high nine games.

Still unscored upon: Cubs rookie Andrew Cashner needed his entire 6-foot-6 frame to snag Juan Pierre's bases-loaded comebacker in the eighth, turning it into an inning-ending, 1-2-3 double play. Cashner is unscored upon in his first 6 innings in the big leagues.

Surgin' Sergio: White Sox reliever Sergio Santos struck out the only batter he faced, getting pinch hitter Chad Tracy looking with two on and two outs in the seventh. Santos entered the game sixth in the American League in ERA (1.71) and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings (11.14).