Vazquez tosses 8 scoreless as ChiSox blank Royals

[August 13, 2008]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Javier Vazquez threw eight scoreless innings and Jermaine Dye hit a two-run homer to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 9-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

Vazquez (9-10) matched his season-high with 10 strikeouts, gave up five hits and walked one to win for the second time in nine starts. Vazquez hadn't won at home since beating Pittsburgh on June 17, and was 1-5 since, with the victory coming against the Royals on Aug. 1.

Adam Russell completed the White Sox's first shutout since beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 on June 26.

Brian Bannister (7-11) lost his fifth straight decision. He gave up four hits, three home runs. He struck out seven and walked two in seven innings. Bannister is winless in his last eight starts since beating Colorado on June 23.

Dye's 28th homer came in the first inning, scoring Orlando Cabrera. Nick Swisher added a solo shot, his 17th, in the fifth, and A.J. Pierzynski hit his 10th homer in the sixth.

The White Sox put up five runs against Josh Newman in the eighth, thanks to some shoddy fielding by the Royals. With one out and a runner on third, Royals shortstop Mike Aviles let Pierzynski's fly to shallow center drop next to him for a standup double, scoring Juan Uribe. Dye followed with an RBI double and left fielder Jose Guillen then committed a two-base error, dropping Jim Thome's fly ball at the wall.

Paul Konerko drove in Dye from third with a sacrifice fly and Brian Anderson added a run-scoring double. Chris Getz, just called up from the minors Sunday, ripped an RBI single to center in his first major league at-bat.

The Royals' first two hits were ripped past first for extra bases. Alex Gordon tripled off the glove of a diving Konerko with two outs in the second and Aviles doubled with two out in the third. Vazquez stranded both.

The White Sox were without outfielder Carlos Quentin, who was a late scratch with soreness in his left forearm. Swisher started in left and Konerko at first.

Notes: Vazquez has struck out 10 four times this year and 37 times in his career. ... Royals LHP Ron Mahay, who hasn't pitched since last Thursday after experiencing pain in his left foot, threw before the game and reported no pain. Manager Trey Hillman said Mahay is still day-to-day. ... OF David DeJesus, who sat out Sunday's 5-4 win over Minnesota with a sore hip, was back in the Royals' lineup, batting third. ... Quentin has been hit by a pitch in five straight games- the first player since 1920 with that long a streak, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... Before the game, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wasn't worried about any spillover from a benches-clearing brawl between his team and the Royals on Aug. 3. "We'll let the past be in the past," he said. "I don't see anything happening today, tomorrow or the next day."

[Associated Press]

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