Torres pitches White Sox past Cubs

[September 04, 2009]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Rookie Carlos Torres threw seven crisp innings, Dewayne Wise made a great throw to cut down a runner at the plate and the White Sox beat the Cubs 5-0 Thursday in a makeup game between two city rivals whose seasons have gone awry

Torres (1-0), recalled from the minors two days ago, earned his first major league win in his third career start. He allowed five hits, walked none and struck out six.

Wise, whose highlight-reel catch preserved Mark Buehrle's perfect game back in July, made a strong throw from right field to preserve a 1-0 White Sox lead in the seventh. Jake Fox tried to score from second on Jeff Baker's single but Wise delivered the ball to A.J. Pierzynski, who was able to tag the sliding Fox for the second out.

Baker took second on the play, but Torres fanned Koyie Hill to end the threat.

The White Sox added two in the eighth, taking advantage of a key Cubs error. Gordon Beckham scored from first when left fielder Alfonso Soriano missed Pierzynski's fly. Paul Konerko followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0 and chase Ryan Dempster (8-8).

Soriano had a cortisone injection in his sore left knee Sunday and had missed three games earlier in the week. After his miscue, what appeared to be a T-shirt came flying out of the left-field bleachers. Soriano also was booed loudly when he struck out to end the game.

The makeup of a June 16 rainout featured two defending division champs whose playoff hopes have faded greatly. It was the latest makeup for an interleague game since Kansas City played Arizona on Sept. 4, 2003.

The Cubs entered six games out of the NL wild card with four teams in front of them. They remained 10 1/2 games back of the Central-leading Cardinals, who lost 4-3 to the Brewers. After a disastrous road trip, the White Sox returned to town in third, seven games back of the Tigers in the AL Central.

"I never thought we were going to collapse in two weeks the way that we did because if you look at the lineup every day it's a pretty good lineup," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Chris Getz singled with two outs in the second and went to second when Fox -- subbing at first base for Derrek Lee -- dropped a pickoff attempt from Dempster for an error. Alexei Ramirez then delivered an RBI single into left field.

Looking like a team that went 2-8 on a 10-game trip to Boston, New York and Minnesota, the White Sox ran themselves out of a potential big inning in the first. Leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik drove a ball into the gap in right-center that would have been a triple, but the ball got lost in the ivy and became a ground-rule double.

Beckham then hit a comebacker to Dempster and Podsednik got caught between second and third. Dempster threw to third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who ran Podsednik back to second and tagged him. Beckham, who took off for second, was tagged out by second baseman Baker in a rundown to complete the double play.

NOTES: Cubs HR and RBI leader Lee was scratched, missing the game to be with his wife, who gave birth to their second child early Thursday morning. ... The White Sox lead the overall series that began in 1997, 37-35.

[Associated Press; By RICK GANO]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.