Sox able to solve Mariners' Hernandez

The White Sox are in first place, they've been nearly unbeatable at home lately, and they were hosting the last-place Seattle Mariners on Monday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

So of course they won 6-1 for their eighth straight on the South Side.

But it was hardly a given, considering Felix Hernandez was on the mound for Seattle.

"He's probably, for my money right now, the best right-handed pitcher in the American League," Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "He can throw any pitch at any time, and everything moves different ways. He doesn't miss his spots too many times. It's a battle with him."

Dating to last season, it has been a losing battle for the White Sox.

But when they plated 2 runs against the Mariners' ace in the third it snapped his consecutive scoreless-inning streak at 25 and opened the door for the Sox' 15th win in their last 16 home games.

"He's one of the tougher pitchers in our league, there's no doubt," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We went about our business. We got a couple big hits. We got good at-bats. Even the guys that went out, they were fighting. We knew we were going to face a pretty good one, but our offense was lights out every at-bat."

The Sox took a 2-1 lead in the third inning on run-scoring singles from Juan Pierre and Omar Vizquel.

In the sixth, they made it 4-1 on Paul Konerko's solo home run and Alexei Ramirez's RBI double.

Up to the challenge: White Sox starter John Danks has been beating everybody lately, and Felix Hernandez and the Mariners were no different.

While improving to 7-2 (2.69 ERA) over his last 9 starts, Danks held Seattle to 1 run on 6 hits over 8 innings.

"You have to limit (runs), for sure," Danks said. "(Hernandez) is going to be pretty good. This was probably one of the worst games he's had all year and he was still pretty darn good. So we knew we had to pitch well and fortunately we were able to do that."

Jack Wilson's one-out single in the third inning was Danks' lone blemish.

"Everything's about consistency and he's been doing it," manager Ozzie Guillen said of Danks. "I think this kid's got enough stuff. He's got a huge heart.

"This kid, every time he's out there, he fights every pitch. Even when he doesn't have the best stuff, he's out there fighting to give you a good, good effort."

Teahen update: Out since May 31 with a fractured right middle finger, Mark Teahen was cleared Monday to resume baseball activities.

"I did some throwing and hit with two hands," Teahen said. "It went better than expected. It wasn't as sore as I thought it would be swinging the bat. That's a good sign."

Teahen hopes to go out on a rehab assignment next week when the Sox play at Detroit and Baltimore.

"The sooner I can get out, the sooner I can get back," Teahen said. "The X-rays looked good and the bone and the joint healed well."