Halladay wins 5th straight as Jays beat Sox 8-2

[May 18, 2009]  TORONTO (AP) -- Roy Halladay won his fifth straight start, Adam Lind hit one of three Toronto homers and the Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2 on Sunday.

Halladay (8-1) surpassed Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke for the major league lead in wins by allowing two runs, one earned, and six hits over seven innings. He also lowered his ERA to 2.78 with eight strikeouts against one walk.

Halladay has worked seven innings or more in all nine starts this season.

Jason Frasor got one out in the eighth, Jesse Carlson got the other two and Brandon League finished it in the ninth for the Blue Jays, who won their AL-leading 26th game.

Alex Rios and Aaron Hill hit solo homers and Lind added a three-run blast as the Blue Jays pounded White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd for the second time this season. Toronto touched him for six runs on nine hits in a 14-0 win at Chicago on April 24.

Things didn't go much better Sunday. Floyd (2-4) allowed six runs and seven hits in five innings, walked two and struck out four. He's winless in five starts and has an ERA of 9.95 over that span.

The White Sox lost their ninth straight game in Toronto and their fourth in a row overall. Chicago has dropped 11 of 14 since May 2, falling from first to fourth in the AL Central.

The White Sox jumped on Halladay with two in the first. Scott Podsednik doubled and Chris Getz reached on Halladay's fielding error before Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko followed with RBI singles. Dye was thrown out trying to steal third and Jim Thome walked, but Halladay got out of it by popping up Alexei Ramirez and striking out Josh Fields.

Rios cut the gap in half with a homer to left in the bottom half, his fifth, and Toronto took the lead for good in the fourth.

Hill and Rios singled and Rios was narrowly forced out on Vernon Wells' fielder's choice before Lind smacked a homer to right center, his seventh.

The Blue Jays chased Floyd with two more in the fifth. Rod Barajas singled and scored on Marco Scutaro's double to left, and Rios brought Scutaro home with a fielder's choice.

Scutaro was left rolling on the ground in pain after he was struck in the chest by catcher Corky Miller's throw as he stole third in the fifth. Scutaro initially stayed in the game but John McDonald took over defensively in the seventh.

Toronto capped it with two in the eighth off Chicago's Bobby Jenks. Hill hit his 11th homer and Lyle Overbay added an RBI single.

Notes: White Sox OF Carlos Quentin (left foot) missed his second straight game and is also expected to sit out Monday. ... Chicago has not won in Toronto since a 3-0 victory June 1, 2007. ... Bench coach Joey Cora served as interim manager for the second straight day with Ozzie Guillen in Chicago for his son's college graduation. Guillen will rejoin the team Monday. ... Chicago OF Brian Anderson (right oblique) went 1 for 5 and scored twice in his fourth rehab game with Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday. ... The teams wrap up their four-game series with a day game Monday, the Victoria Day holiday in Canada, when Chicago LHP Clayton Richard (1-0) faces Toronto RHP Scott Richmond (4-2).

[Associated Press]

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