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| Quentin, Thome keep White Sox streaking CHI WHITE SOX 4, CLEVELAND 1 |
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By Gene Chamberlain PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer CHICAGO (Ticker) - In a short time, Carlos Quentin has gone from a player hoping to make the Chicago White Sox roster to playing a key role in their longest winning streak of the season. Quentin and Jim Thome homered and Jose Contreras threw six-plus solid innings as the White Sox won their sixth straight, 4-1, over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Quentin, who won a starting job out of spring training, leads the American League with 12 home runs and has sparked the White Sox since moving into the No. 3 slot in the lineup. The White Sox have won all six games that Quentin has hit third. "Wherever they bat me, I just appreciate being in the lineup, first and foremost," Quentin said. "You've got to appreciate the opportunity you receive." Quentin homered for the second straight game and Thome hit his eighth home run of the season in support of Contreras (5-3), who dealt Cleveland its fourth straight loss. "There's a lot of great players, a lot of talented players who come up in this game and they don't get a fair chance," Quentin said. "Things have worked out for me this year where I've been able to get on the field consistently. Anywhere they hit me, I'm just really accepting and really excited about getting those four at-bats. If I get them on a consistent basis like I've been doing, it's even more exciting." Quentin blasted a 417-foot shot to center with two outs in the first inning. Thome led off the second with an opposite-field homer to left for a 2-0 lead. It was his third of the year off Sabathia, adding to the two in Cleveland on Opening Day. Despite his success, Thome says he does not have C.C. Sabathia figured out. "I don't have him figured out," Thome said. "He's too good to even think about that you've got him figured out. You're not thinking home run there. You're just trying to have good at-bats and we were fortunate both balls we hit were homers." Sabathia (3-6) came into the game with a 14-3 career record against Chicago, but suffered his first career loss at U.S. Cellular Field after seven straight wins. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner struck out eight and walked one while allowing seven hits. "Both guys pitched a strong ballgame," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "We weren't able to get anything going. C.C. was great. He gave up a couple solo shots but there wasn't much happening for us offensively." Meanwhile, the blasts from Quentin and Thome were all the support Contreras needed. The Cuban righthander limited the Indians to just one run and four hits in six-plus innings to pick up his third straight win. Contreras' lone slip up came in the third when he allowed consecutive singles to Casey Blake and Jamey Carroll. Asdrubal Cabrera sacrificed the runners, and Grady Sizemore pulled the Indians to within one with a sacrifice fly. "Mentally I feel a lot better than I did (last year)," Contreras said through an interpreter. "I'm healthy, that's the most important thing. My rhythm has been good and it's the reason why I'm pitching the way I am by throwing strikes on a consistent basis." "I think he's more confident in himself," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He believes his stuff has come back." Contreras left after allowing a leadoff single to Ryan Garko in the seventh. Matt Thornton got David Dellucci to hit into a double play, and Octavio Dotel struck out Blake to end the frame. Scott Linebrink threw a 1-2-3 eighth and Chicago tacked on some insurance runs in the bottom half of the frame. Playing because Joe Crede got ejected, Pablo Ozuna laced a one-out, base-loaded single to right and Nick Swisher drove in a run with a groundout. Bobby Jenks tossed a scoreless ninth for his 11th save of the season. It was the first game at home after a 10-game road trip for the White Sox, who had won five in a row three times this season. The six-game winning streak is their best since winning nine straight from June 15-24, 2006. While Chicago is rolling, the Indians continued to struggle offensively. It was the 24th time they've scored three runs or less. "Everybody's frustrated and it's understandable," Wedge said. "It seems like a long stretch and we have been struggling offensively and we have to keep pushing. One of these days we will snap out of it and gain some momentum and be a better ballclub." |
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