CHICAGO -- Ken Griffey Jr. hit an RBI single in the first inning then made a diving catch in the second, and Mark Buehrle pitched five-hit ball for seven innings to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 4-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Jermaine Dye added an RBI double to help keep the White Sox a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.
The White Sox played without slugger Carlos Quentin for the second straight game. Quentin, who is tied for the major league lead with 32 home runs, was struck on the left forearm by a pitch from Josh Beckett on Monday night. He has been hit by a pitch in five straight games -- the first player since 1920 with that long of a streak, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He has been hit 19 times overall -- most in the majors.
Buehrle (10-10) escaped a jam in the third to maintain the White Sox's 2-0. With runners on second and third, he struck out David DeJesus and Jose Guillen.
The left-hander struck out five and walked none in improving to 7-3 at home with a 2.72 ERA. Buehrle is 18-8 lifetime against the Royals.
Orlando Cabrera led off the first with a grounder deep in the hole at shortstop for an infield single and advanced to second when Tony Pena Jr.'s throw sailed over first baseman Billy Butler's head for an error. Cabrera advanced to third on A.J. Pierzynski's sacrifice.
Dye then doubled to center for a 1-0 lead. After a walk to Paul Konerko, Griffey hit a single to right, scoring Dye from second. Full story
Orioles 6, Indians 1
CLEVELAND -- Jeremy Guthrie went seven innings to win his fourth straight start, and the Baltimore Orioles beat Cleveland to snap the Indians' five-game winning streak.
Guthrie (10-8) allowed only four hits and struck out four against the team that made him a first-round draft pick in 2002. The right-hander appeared in only 16 games with one start for Cleveland and was claimed off waivers by Baltimore in January 2007.
Guthrie gave up one run for the fourth time in a row and has yielded two or fewer in six of his last seven starts. In 10 starts since June 24, Guthrie is 7-1 with a 2.79 ERA.
Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora had three hits apiece for Baltimore. Markakis' two-run single in a four-run ninth made him 8-for-12 with eight RBI in the first three games of the four-game series.
