Peavy throws 3-hit shutout as Sox win 5th straight

Posted June 18, 2010 11:00 pm

WASHINGTON - Jake Peavy mixed speeds, kept Washington hitters guessing and continued an impressive roll by White Sox starting pitchers.

Peavy pitched a 3-hitter for his fourth career shutout and the White Sox beat the Nationals 1-0 on Saturday for their season-high fifth straight victory.

"I start every game with the intention of finishing it," Peavy said. "Does that happen very often? Absolutely not. I did what I set out to do today."

Peavy's effort extended a dominant stretch by the White Sox rotation, which is 8-1 with a 1.81 ERA in its last 11 starts.

"Pitching is contagious," Peavy said. "When you watch one guy go out there and do well, you want to follow it up."

Peavy (6-5), whose scheduled start Thursday was pushed back two days because of an achy right shoulder, walked two and struck out seven as the White Sox moved within a game of .500 (33-34) for the first time since April 14, when they were 4-5.

"Coming into the game we didn't know what we were going to get because (Peavy) was having (shoulder) problems," said catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who had 3 hits. "As the game went on, he got better. He got better and better."

The right-hander, who is 6-1 in his last 7 starts against NL clubs, worked out of a two-on, none-out jam in the first and retired 20 Nationals in a row after Roger Bernadina's second-inning single. His previous shutout was Aug. 23, 2005, a 2-0 win for San Diego over Houston.

Carlos Quentin's RBI single in the fourth sent the Nationals to their season-worst sixth consecutive defeat. The Sox have won nine of 10 overall.

"We scratched out just enough offensively to make it happen," Peavy said.

Nyjer Morgan drew a leadoff walk in the Washington ninth and moved to second on Cristian Guzman's sacrifice bunt. Peavy then struck out Ryan Zimmerman looking and intentionally walked Adam Dunn before getting Josh Willingham on a popup to second.

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen made a visit to the mound before Peavy faced Dunn in the ninth with the tying run at second, but it lasted only seconds. Dunn was 5-for-28 with 2 homers against the right-hander.

"I don't like to walk the winning run because the baseball gods get you. (Peavy) made a good pitch to the next hitter," Guillen said.

Washington has scored once in 20 innings over two games against the Sox, a trend Zimmerman said has to be reversed.

"Depending on who you're facing, you've got to step your game up and come through with some hits and support our pitchers. They've been throwing the ball well," Zimmerman said. "It's not good to waste performances like that and we need to work a little bit harder and come through in the clutch a little bit more."

Washington starter J.D. Martin scattered 8 hits over 6 innings but remained winless in 7 starts since his last victory on Sept. 18, 2009. Martin (0-3) walked none and struck out a career-best six.

White Sox 1, Nationals 0

Getting well in the NL: The White Sox are 9-2 in interleague play, and 7-1 on this road trip at the Cubs, Pirates and Nationals.

Shouldering the load: Jake Peavy tossed his fourth career shutout, allowing 3 hits and finishing off Washington with 107 pitches despite recent shoulder pain.

Power outage: Carlos Quentin's two-out single in the fourth inning plated Omar Vizquel for the game's only run. A.J. Pierzynski had 3 hits, but the Sox haven't homered in seven straight games.