White Sox rally past Orioles 4-2; Quentin hits 22nd homer

Posted August 07, 2010 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

The White Sox rallied from a 2-0 deficit and beat the Orioles 4-2 at Camden Yards on Saturday night.

That's the big news, and the victory over a Baltimore team with the worst record (36-74) in baseball kept the Sox 11/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.

"You can see why Chicago's in first place," new Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters after he lost for the first time in five games. "They run quality pitching out there night after night, and they make runs matter at the end of the game.

"They've got a lot of ways to make leads matter, and getting quality starting pitching, that's where we hope to be one day."

It was an interesting day for the White Sox:

• Bobby Jenks didn't pitch in the ninth inning against Baltimore after failing to protect a 4-1 lead Thursday at Detroit.

J.J. Putz took the mound in the ninth and held the Orioles scoreless while earning his third save of the season.

"I think everybody knows we're a better team with (Jenks) at the back end," Putz said. "It allows everybody else to slide up, mix and match with lefties and righties, and he can come in and slam the door."

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters that Jenks didn't get the save opportunity because of a health issue.

"Bobby's got a bad back," Guillen said. "The way Bobby's been throwing, we've got options out there. We have to wait to put Bobby back in the closer rotation."

Since the all-star break, Jenks is 0-2 with a 10.56 ERA.

• A.J. Pierzynski finally came through with a big hit, an RBI double in the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2. But as he reached third base on the throw to the plate, Pierzynski hurt his ankle and had to leave the game.

"I'll be fine," he said. "It's just a sprained ankle. I could have stayed in the game, but they wanted me to get out and put ice on it."

• Alex Rios was in a 4-for-37 slump before singling up the middle to score Juan Pierre with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. Rios sat out Friday's game with apparent soreness.

"He's got a sore everything," Guillen said. "The thing that was sore was his bat."

• Starter Gavin Floyd (8-8) was sharp again for the White Sox, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings to earn the win. And Matt Thornton didn't allow a run in the eighth inning, his 21st consecutive scoreless appearance.

Scot Gregor's game tracker

White Sox 4, Orioles 2

Closing time: At least for now, it looks like J.J. Putz is the Sox' closer. Replacing Bobby Jenks, who is 0-2 with a 10.56 ERA since the all-star break, Putz pitched a scoreless ninth inning and earned his third save of the season.

Rios returns: After sitting out Friday's game with a "sore bat," according to manager Ozzie Guillen, Alex Rios delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie. Rios was in a 4-for-37 slide before the clutch hit.

Rolling along: White Sox starter Gavin Floyd pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits to get the win. The right-hander, voted the AL's pitcher of the month for July, is 6-1 with a 1.17 ERA in his last 9 starts.