Buehrle, offense rolling right along

Even as they ascended into first place in the American League Central, the White Sox were being bombarded with two frequent questions.

What's wrong with Mark Buehrle? What's wrong with the offense?

In Wednesday night's 8-2 interleague victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at U.S. Cellular Field, the Sox provided the answers.

Not much.

Continuing to look like his old self, Buehrle was working on a no-hitter until Jose Bautista led off the sixth inning with a home run.

And one night after reaching season highs in runs (16) and hits (19), the White Sox showed they can slug at an impressive pace, even with cleanup hitter Paul Konerko (strained left oblique muscle) on the 15-day disabled list.

Buehrle got the win after limiting Pittsburgh to 2 runs on 4 hits over 8 innings. In his last 3 starts, the Sox' 29-year-old lefty is 2-0, allowing just 4 runs in 24 innings.

"The way he was pitching early, obviously there was going to be a lot of questions,'' said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "And when I said we'd do everything we can to protect him, people thought there was something wrong.''

What Guillen really meant to say was he didn't want to overuse Buehrle in spring training and he wanted to give the veteran starter an extra day or two off early in the season because Buehrle has pitched 200 or more innings for seven straight years.

Buehrle was baffled by the early angst but never particularly worried. Now it looks like he's embarking on yet another extended roll.

"I'm just going out there and throwing strikes and keeping my pitch count down,'' Buehrle said when asked to explain his success.

While he always pitches to contact, Buehrle surprised the baseball world last season when he threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers.

He was working on another gem against the Pirates before Bautista hit his first pitch of the sixth inning over the left-field fence.

"It was in my mind,'' Buehrle said of another no-hitter. "I was throwing the ball well and I had good stuff. The only thing I was concerned about was I was getting a lot of flyouts. That usually means you're up in the zone.''

Buehrle was burned by Bautista leading off the sixth, and he allowed another run in the eighth.

The Sox' offense, on the other hand, jumped on Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny in the second inning when Toby Hall hit a 2-run homer. It was Hall's first home run with the White Sox and his first homer since June 4, 2006, when he played for Tampa Bay.

"I've been getting close,'' said Hall, who played last season with a dislocated shoulder. "It's obviously nice to be healthy and out there contributing.''

Another reserve player, Brian Anderson, also homered, as did Carlos Quentin.

"Toby and Brian, I feel proud of those guys,'' Guillen said. "Everybody has to contribute and everybody has a job to do. It's not an easy job, but those guys have been great.''

And, once again, so has Buehrle.

"He kept us off balance, especially our right-handed hitters,'' Pittsburgh manager John Russell said. "He had a lot of efficient innings against us. He threw the ball well. He had everything going his way.''

White Sox 8, Pirates 2

At the plate: Toby Hall hit a 2-run homer in the second inning, his first since June 4, 2006, when he played for Tampa Bay. Carlos Quentin also homered for the first time in 37 at-bats. Orlando Cabrera (2-for-3) is batting .415 over his last 13 games. Jim Thome drew his 1,499th career walk, tying him for 17th place all time with Eddie Collins.

On the mound: Mark Buehrle pitched 8 innings for the third straight start, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

-- Scot Gregor