Sox crank up the offense, taking down Tampa Bay 8-3

It looked like another one of those nights was in store for the White Sox on Saturday at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir couldn't find the strike zone with a GPS in the first inning, throwing 10 straight balls while walking leadoff hitter Brent Lillibridge, Josh Field and Carlos Quentin to load the bases.

The Sox' next hitter, Jermaine Dye, grounded into a double play which scored Lillibridge, and the frustration level started to rise.

But Paul Konerko followed with a run-scoring double, which prevented Kazmir from completely getting off the hook, and the White Sox kept the offense rolling the rest of the game en route to beating the Rays 8-3.

"I think Paul put a little gas in the motors," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Kazmir is about as good as it gets in the American League when he's in command, but the left-hander never got it going against the White Sox while allowing 6 runs on 5 hits and 6 walks in 4-plus innings.

"Kazmir is one of the best lefties in the game," Guillen told reporters. "He was a little wild and we weren't helping him find the strike zone."

The Sox have been showing exceptional patience at the plate all season, and they took it to another level against Tampa Bay.

The White Sox drew 10 walks off Kazmir and four relief pitchers, and they got plenty of contact from Konerko (3-for-5, 3 RBI) and Carlos Quentin (3-for-4, 2 RBI), who each homered in the fifth inning.

In the first five games of the road trip, Konerko is batting .450 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.

"Paul Konerko's fine when his hand's not bothering him," Guillen said. "He's been swinging the bat real good since spring training."

Sox starter Mark Buehrle struggled for much of spring training, but the workhorse lefty delivered another solid April outing, getting the win after allowing 3 runs over 62/3 innings.

"My pitch count in the first three innings was higher than I wanted it to be," Buehrle said. "I thought I was going to go five-and-dive. But after that, I got it down."

The Sox are 2-0 against left-handed starters on the young season, and Guillen again used Corky Miller at catcher, Lillibridge at second base and Wilson Betemit at first, with Konerko spelling designated hitter Jim Thome.

"Every time we play those guys, they come out and play well," Guillen said.