Jackson leads White Sox past Orioles 8-0

Minutes after White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had reiterated for the umpteenth time that he was happy with the roster he currently has in the wake of all the rumors concerning Manny Ramirez and others who soon might become available, his general manager disagreed.

Surprise!

"No, I'd rather we'd win some games," Kenny Williams said, when asked if asked if he was good with the status quo. "I like the winning part."

Well then Williams sure had to like what he saw Thursday as the Sox, behind some sterling pitching from Edwin Jackson and a 14-hit barrage rolled to an easy 8-0 victory over Baltimore in front of 23,898 at U.S. Cellular Field.

The win kept the Sox 31/2 games behind AL Central-leading Minnesota, who beat Texas 6-4. It was a welcome reversal of form from the previous night when the Sox looked more distracted than determined in a 4-2 loss to the Orioles where they could only come up with 5 hits.

"Some guys around here when they don't get any hits, it's like the end of the world to them," said Juan Pierre, who had a pair of hits, scored twice and stole a foul ball away from a fan along the left-field line Thursday. "We had good at-bats throughout the lineup."

And then there was the pitching of Jackson (2-0), who not only put together his second consecutive 10-strikeout performance but went 8 strong innings to aid a worn-out bullpen.

"Every time he's been out there he's given us a tremendous effort," Guillen said of Jackson, who has a 0.96 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 4 starts with the Sox. "He comes in and does what he's supposed to do.

"To me it's very hard to come from another team in a trade - the expectations are very high. He's handled it positive and well."

Jackson also helped the Sox end a streak of five straight series losses, something he said you never would have noticed by the demeanor in the locker room.

"Definitely not," he said. "This is a team of professionals; they know what it takes to win. The mood has been the same throughout the good stretches and the bad stretches.

"There's no need to put pressure on ourselves right now."

The Sox will get all the pressure they can handle starting tonight when they open a weekend series with the Yankees.

"It's huge," Guillen said. "It's fun; that's what we're here for."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike Spellman's game tracker </p>

<p class="News">White Sox 8, Orioles 0</p>

<p class="News"><b>That's quality:</b> Edwin Jackson put together his second straight 10-strikeout performance, becoming the first Sox pitcher to do so since Javier Vazquez accomplished the feat in September of 2007. He is 5-1 lifetime against the Orioles. </p>

<p class="News"><b>It's a steal:</b> When Juan Pierre swiped third base in the fourth inning, it marked his 50th stolen base of the season. Pierre is the 11th player in White Sox history with 50 or more steals in a season. "It's nice," Pierre said. "I take pride in it."</p>

<p class="News"><b>He's back:</b> Alex Rios was 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI. It was his first 3-hit game since July 2 at Texas.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Feeling bad:</b> Third baseman Omar Vizquel left the game late with an upset stomach. He is listed as day to day.</p>

<div class="infoBox">

<h1>More Coverage</h1>

<div class="infoBoxContent">

<div class="infoArea">

<h2>Stories</h2>

<ul class="links">

<li><a href="/story/?id=403834">Williams admits Sox' income 'stretched' <span class="date"> [8/26/10]</span></a></li>

</ul>

</div>

</div>

</div>