SB Nation Chicago - Rios, Konerko Lead Sox Back To .500 With Sixth Straight Winhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48877/chicago-fave.png2010-06-20T16:47:44-05:00http://chicago.sbnation.com/rss/stream/12910042010-06-20T16:47:44-05:002010-06-20T16:47:44-05:00Konerko Drives In Three To Lead Sox Past Nationals, 6-3
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<p>Washington, DC (Sports Network) – Paul Konerko drove in three runs and scored a run, as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Washington Nationals, 6-3, to complete a three-game series sweep at Nationals Park.</p>
<p>Alex Rios went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two <span class="caps">RBI</span> for the White Sox, who finished a nine-game road trip with an impressive 8-1 mark.</p>
<p>Freddy Garcia (8-3) went seven innings in the start, allowing three runs on six hits to pick up his fifth straight win for Chicago, which has won its last six contests. He also fanned six batters and walked one. J.J. Putz recorded his first save of the season.</p>
<p>Adam Dunn, Roger Bernadina, and Wil Nieves each knocked in a run for the Nationals, who have dropped six in a row.</p>
<p>John Lannan (2-5) got rocked in four-plus innings, giving up five runs on 11 hits to take the loss. The left-hander hasn’t tasted victory since May 28 against the Padres.</p>
<p>Down 3-1, Chicago scored four times in the fifth to take the lead. Juan Pierre and Alexei Ramirez hit consecutive singles to put men on the corners for Rios, who laced an <span class="caps">RBI</span> double to center. Konerko followed with a two-run single. Miguel Batista relieved Lannan and gave up base hits to Carlos Quentin and Ramon Castro to load the bases with nobody out. Dayan Viciedo then grounded into a double play, but a run scored on the play to make it 5-3. Gordon Beckham grounded out to end the inning.</p>
<p>Washington stranded a runner on third in the sixth, before the White Sox got an <span class="caps">RBI</span> single from Rios in the ninth to make it a 6-3 game.</p>
<p>Matt Thornton tossed a scoreless eighth and Putz worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to secure the victory.</p>
<p>The White Sox got on the board in the first inning. Rios hit a two-out single, stole second, and crossed the plate on Konerko’s base hit up the middle.</p>
<p>Washington plated three runs in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. Cristian Guzman led off with a triple into the gap in right-center field. Dunn followed with a grounder to first baseman Konerko, who threw home in an attempt to get Guzman out. However, Guzman just beat the throw to score the Nationals’ first run of the game. Bernadina and Nieves each added <span class="caps">RBI</span> singles later in the frame.</p>
<p>The White Sox swept a series in Washington for the first time since April 29- May 2, 1971 (four-game series)…Chicago has gone eight straight games without hitting a home run, its longest stretch since April 17-25, 1993 (eight games)…Viciedo started at third base and made his <span class="caps">MLB</span> debut for the White Sox on Sunday. He went 1-for-4. Viciedo (21 years, 102 days) is the third- youngest Sox player to make his debut since 2000 behind Jon Garland (20 years, 281 days) and Pedro Lopez (21 years, three days).</p>
https://chicago.sbnation.com/2010/6/20/1527429/konerko-rios-sox-nationals-interleagueAl Yellon2010-06-20T09:35:51-05:002010-06-20T09:35:51-05:00Sox Look To Move Back To .500 Mark Vs. Nationals
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<p>(Sports Network) – The Chicago White Sox hope to close out a nine-game road trip with an impressive win streak, as they shoot for their sixth straight victory and a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals in DC.</p>
<p>The White Sox have won five in a row and are aiming for their second straight sweep. After taking all three matchups in Pittsburgh, they continued to thrive at Nationals Park with wins in the first two portions of the set. In Saturday’s 1-0 win, Jake Peavy tossed a three-hit shutout and struck out seven batters for Chicago, which has won nine of 10 games and improved to 7-1 on the nine-game swing.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t work out often where you get to throw a complete game. And then when you throw a complete game and give up no runs, it just doesn’t happen very often in today’s world,” Peavy said after recording his fourth career shutout. “Things just worked out today.”</p>
<p>Carlos Quentin drove in Omar Vizquel for the game’s lone run in the fourth inning. A.J. Pierzynski added three hits in a winning cause, as the Pale Hose sit 5 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the AL Central lead.</p>
<p>Taking the hill for the White Sox in Sunday’s series finale will be Freddy Garcia, who has won four straight and seven of his last eight starts. He last toed the rubber in a 6-4 win at Pittsburgh on Tuesday despite giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. Garcia pushed his mark to 7-3 in 12 starts to go along with a 4.94 <span class="caps">ERA</span>.</p>
<p>The right-hander is 4-1 in six away starts and has never faced Washington.</p>
<p>The Nationals have dropped five in a row and seven of their last eight games, including yesterday’s tough loss. Nyjer Morgan, Cristian Guzman and Roger Bernadina collected the three hits for Washington.</p>
<p>“[Peavy] had a lot of movement on his stuff,” Morgan said. “He pitched a hell of a game. That’s why he’s one of the top pitchers in the league.”</p>
<p>J.D. Martin was dealt the hard-luck loss and held the White Sox to a run on eight hits in six innings to fall to 0-3 on the season.</p>
<p>John Lannan gets the nod for the Nats on Sunday and he is 2-4 with 5.45 earned run average in 13 starts. He is 0-2 in his last three trips to the mound and was beaten by Detroit the last time out on Tuesday, when he gave up seven runs — six earned — and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings.</p>
<p>Lannan, who sports an 0-1 mark in five home starts this season, will make his first appearance against the White Sox.</p>
<p>These two teams have not met since 2004 when the Washington franchise was still located in Montreal. The Expos took two of three in that set and also claimed two of three the previous time they met in 2002.</p>
https://chicago.sbnation.com/2010/6/20/1526974/sox-nationals-interleague-500-markAl Yellon2010-06-20T09:25:49-05:002010-06-20T09:25:49-05:00Sox Go For Second Straight Series Sweep In Washington
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<p>The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/CWS" class="sbn-auto-link">White Sox</a> go for their sixth win in a row -- and second straight series sweep over a National League team -- when they face the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS" class="sbn-auto-link">Nationals</a> in Washington today at 12:35 CDT.</p>
<p>If they win, they'll also get back to the .500 mark for the first time since the season's second game, when they were (obviously) 1-1.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2010_06_20_chamlb_wasmlb_1&mode=preview">Here's MLB.com's game preview,</a> featuring the pitching matchup of <span>Freddy Garcia</span> and <span>John Lannan</span>.</p>
https://chicago.sbnation.com/2010/6/20/2316689/sox-go-for-second-straight-series-sweep-in-washingtonAl Yellon