Floyd shows old form, White Sox beat Pirates 2-0

[May 23, 2009]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Gavin Floyd allowed two hits over eight innings and Alexei Ramirez homered as the Chicago White Sox rebounded from one of their worst days by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 on Friday night.

Floyd gave the White Sox just what they needed after a day after their franchise record-tying 20-1 trouncing by Minnesota and rejection by Jake Peavy, outpitching Zach Duke to lift the White Sox to just their third win in nine games.

Ramirez singled and scored in the third and led off the eighth with his second homer to make it 2-0. That was enough for Floyd (3-4), who struck out eight and walked two after going 0-3 in his previous five starts. Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 10 chances.

Duke (5-4) was a tough-luck loser despite allowing just six hits while striking out seven over eight innings.

But after seeing their season-high five-game win streak end with Thursday's 5-4 loss to Washington, the Pirates did little against a team and a pitcher mired in misery.

The 19-run pounding and Peavy's refusal to allow San Diego to trade him to Chicago were just the latest setbacks for a struggling White Sox team that has high expectations. One of the biggest disappointments for the defending AL Central champions has been Floyd, a 17-game winner last season who hadn't won since April 19.

His ERA entering the game was 7.71 - 9.95 in his previous five outings. But he finally showed his old form Friday.

He didn't allow a runner past second and the closest Pittsburgh came to scoring was when Eric Hinske sent a fly to deep right that Jermaine Dye caught against the wall.

Duke was almost as good.

The struggling Ramirez, however, got the better of him. Last year's runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year, he began the night with a .213 average but - like Floyd - flashed his old form.

He led off the third with a single to center and scored from third on Scott Podsednik's grounder to second. In the eighth, he drove a 2-1 pitch out to left-center after going 72 at-bats without a homer.

Notes:@ Chicago's Carlos Quentin made his first start in a week and went 0 for 3 as the designated hitter. He had missed five games with a sore left heel before singling in a run on Thursday. ... White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen will miss Saturday's game to tend to his ailing father-in-law in Venezuela. He'll try to be back in time for Sunday's game. ... The Pirates won't have to leave town after this weekend series; they visit the Cubs for three games starting Monday.

[Associated Press; By ANDREW SELIGMAN]

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