Tough-luck loser Floyd looking better

In his last start before facing the Cubs on Sunday night, Gavin Floyd finally started showing some signs of life while allowing 1 run in 6 innings against the Detroit Tigers.

The White Sox' right-hander took another big step at Wrigley Field, and it looked he was going to combine with Cubs counterpart Ted Lilly for twin no-hitters.

"It was a fun game," Floyd said after taking a tough-luck 1-0 loss. "Obviously, it was a tense game all the way to the end. I wish it would have gone the other way, but (Lilly) pitched very well."

True, but so did Floyd.

Carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the third time in his career, Floyd's gem ended when Alfonso Soriano doubled with two outs. Chad Tracy hit his next pitch past diving second baseman Gordon Beckham to bring home Soriano.

"I threw (Soriano) a slider, just trying to get him to swing," Floyd said. "He did."

And so did Tracy, on a fastball.

Juan Pierre ended Lilly's bid for a no-hitter when he led off the ninth inning with a pinch-hit single. Still, it obviously was the greatest pitchers duel since the Sox and Cubs started playing interleague games in 1997.

"Great," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Great weekend for sports here in Chicago. Both guys threw unbelievable ballgames. Lilly was outstanding. His cutter was working very well and his changeup was very effective.

"Gavin, that was the best he's thrown the ball all year long. He had much better command; he was using his breaking ball in tough situations. He made a couple of those guys swing at 3-2 breaking balls.

"He's been doing what we expect him to do."

And so has the rest of the White Sox' rotation.

They didn't get the three-game sweep over their rivals at Wrigley, but Floyd gave the rotation its sixth straight quality start.

"Every time one of my starters go out there, we don't know what to predict," Guillen said. "Lately, they have been throwing the ball well. Hopefully, it's contagious."

The Sox finished 12 straight games in Chicago with a 6-6 record, which isn't what they were hoping for when they started on their home turf.

"Well, the way we played the last two months, I would take that," Guillen said. "Our expectation is win the most series we can. We have been playing good baseball. We have.

"If we continue to do that, we'll see what happens in the future. If we continue to play like that, pulling for each other, taking care of each other, getting the big hits, things can turn around the right way."