Sox end nine-game losing streak
BALTIMORE — Pinch-runner Chris Dickerson got lost on the bases and was doubled up for the final out, and the White Sox ended a nine-game losing streak by holding off the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 Sunday.
Down 4-1, Baltimore loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth against Addison Reed. After Ryan Flaherty grounded into a forceout at second base that scored a run, Dickerson ran for him.
Dickerson tried to steal second on a pitch to Brian Roberts, who hit a foul pop near first base. Dickerson didn't know where the ball went, and the baserunning blunder made him an easy out at first.
Rookie Andre Rienzo pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning and Adam Dunn homered for the White Sox. Reed wound up with his 37th save.
Adam Jones hit his 31st home run for the Orioles, who went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight. Baltimore began the day one game behind Tampa Bay in the race for the final AL wild-card slot.
Dayan Viciedo had two hits and an RBI for the White Sox, who averted a four-game sweep and put a positive finish on a terrible that included three defeats apiece in Boston and Yankee Stadium. Only eight teams in major league history have gone winless on a road trip of at least 10 games.
Chicago (57-85) also avoided falling 30 games under .500 for the first time since ending the 1976 season at 64-97.
Making his eighth big league start, Rienzo (2-1) gave up one run and four hits in 6 2-3 innings. The Brazilian native walked two and struck out four in the second-longest outing since being summoned from the minors on July 30.
Rienzo left after giving up a two-out single to J.J. Hardy in the seventh. Flaherty followed with a double off Matt Lindstrom, who struck out Roberts to end the threat.
Bud Norris (10-11) allowed four runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings. He was 4-0 as a starter for Baltimore since being acquired in a trade with Houston on July 31.
The White Sox were clinging to a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning when Dunn hit his 31st homer after Alexei Ramirez led off with a single. The drive snapped Dunn's 7-for-65 skid and traveled an estimated 424 feet before landing on Eutaw Street, far beyond the right-field wall.
The four runs the White Sox scored matched their total in the previous three games of the series.