White Sox Still Have Plenty of Fight Left

The Chicago White Sox had a championship-caliber comeback.

Magglio Ordonez had three runs batted in, including a go-ahead sacrifice fly, as the White Sox rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 6-5, Friday night at St. Petersburg, Fla.

“Again, they showed great character in fighting back,” White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel said. “It’s never a good time to fall behind 5-0, but the guys battled back. It’s a great win for us to come back in that fashion.”

Ordonez hit a two-run single in the fifth inning to tie the score and gave Chicago the lead with his 11th sacrifice fly of the season in the seventh. Both came after Frank Thomas was intentionally walked.

“I can understand the move because of how hot Frank is,” Manuel said. “Magglio’s a good hitter. That’s the reason he’s hitting behind Frank. We wouldn’t send Frank up there naked, so to speak.”

The White Sox, who have an American League-best 69-46 record, are 14-14 since the All-Star break. Tampa Bay lost for only the second time in seven games.

Mark Buehrle (2-1) got the final out in the sixth inning for the win. Keith Foulke got two out for his 20th save in 24 chances.

Down 5-0, the White Sox got two runs back in the third on run-scoring doubles by Charles Johnson and Jose Valentin. Paul Konerko’s homer got Chicago within 5-3 in the fourth.

Seattle 7, Cleveland 1--Edgar Martinez had a pair of run-scoring singles, increasing his major league-leading RBI total to 109, and the Mariners beat Chuck Finley and the Indians at Seattle.

Rickey Henderson went one for three with three RBIs, walking with the bases loaded in the second inning and hitting a two-run single in the eighth off Steve Reed.

Finley (9-9) lasted only 3 1/3 innings, his shortest of 24 starts this season. He gave up five runs, six hits and walked a season-high six batters. Finley, 4-0 in six starts against Seattle since June 27, 1997, dropped to 19-8 against the Mariners.

Seattle, returning from a 6-2 trip against the Yankees and the White Sox, improved to 69-47, moving 22 games over .500 for the first time.

Boston 7, Texas 3--Carl Everett homered twice and matched a career high with five RBIs, leading the Red Sox over the Rangers on a blistering night at Arlington, Texas.

Everett had a two-run homer in the fourth and a three-run drive in the fifth, both off Ryan Glynn (3-2), for the 11th multihomer game of his career and second this season. Everett raised his season total to 29.

Boston has won two in a row after losing four in a row.

Texas outfielder Gabe Kapler stretched his hitting streak to 24 games with an eighth-inning single off Rheal Cormier, matching the club record set by Mickey Rivers in 1980. Kapler, who went one for five, also matched Arizona’s Tony Womack for the longest streak in the majors this season.

Rolando Arrojo (1-1) won for the first time in eight starts since June 26, when he was with the Colorado Rockies. Arrojo gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings.

Detroit 11, Oakland 4--Dean Palmer and Rich Becker each drove in three runs and the Tigers sent the Athletics to their sixth consecutive loss.

After skipping the last two games to be with his wife for the delivery of twin boys, Palmer went one for four. He has hit in 14 of his last 16 starts and the Tigers are 26-11 when he drives in a run.

Minnesota 9, Toronto 4--Matt Lawton drove in five runs as the Twins ended a three-game losing streak at Minneapolis.

Lawton finished three for five with three runs scored and Jacque Jones added three hits and two RBIs.

The Blue Jays have lost nine of 11 games.

Kansas City 7, Baltimore 6--Rookie Mark Quinn kept up his second-half surge with two homers and a double, driving in four runs as the Royals beat the visiting Orioles.

Quinn’s 17 homers and 56 RBIs lead all American League rookies. Since the All-Star break, he is batting .359 with six homers and 18 RBIs.