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 The 16-year Chicago White Sox veteran, playing in his final
inter-league series against the Chicago Cubs, doubled in three runs
in an 8-3 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.
Second baseman Gordon Beckham, meanwhile, continued to swing a hot
bat with a go-ahead homer for the second straight night as the White
Sox claimed their third straight victory over the Cubs.
"Beck had this big homer, he's been swinging it pretty good, and
power wise it's a nice time to have it come," White Sox manager
Robin Ventura said. "And Paulie, we load the bases for him and he's
been doing that his whole career. ... He gets a charge out of that."
Beckham, just two weeks off the disabled list, clubbed a three-run
home run off Cubs left-hander Travis Wood with two out in the fourth
while Konerko, 2-for-3 as designated hitter, doubled in three more
runs in the fifth.
On Tuesday, Beckham hit a solo shot in the eighth inning to give the
White Sox a 2-1 lead on the way to a 3-1 victory over the Cubs at
Wrigley Field.
Right-hander John Danks (3-2) collected the win Wednesday as the
White Sox claimed their third straight this week over the Cubs. Wood
(2-4) worked just four innings in the loss.
 First baseman Jose Abreu went 3-for-5 with two runs scored while
Konerko finished with three RBIs and scored a run.
Konerko, a longtime Cubs nemesis, played in 73 of 96 all-time games
in the series with a .300 average with 20 home runs and 59 all-time
RBIs.
"It's not so much the quantity it's just you hope when you do
something good it matters in a game and it's at the right moment,"
said Konerko, playing more sparingly in his final season. "That
feels good."
Danks pitched six innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits.
He struck out eight and walked just one. Danks and right-handed
relievers Jake Petricka and Maikel Cleto limited the Cubs to four
hits.
"I thought we were going to be a little better, back on track," Cubs
manager Rick Renteria said. "But we really didn't generate a lot."
The White Sox opened a 1-0 lead in the first inning when shortstop
Alexei Ramirez's two-out single to center scored Abreu.
Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro walked to lead off the second inning,
and he scored the tying run with two outs on third baseman Luis
Valbuena's double to deep left.
Wood was struck in the left thigh by a broken bat as White Sox third
baseman Marcus Semien singled and reached second on an error with
one out in the fourth. Wood was unhurt and continued to pitch.
One out later, Beckham slammed his second homer of the season to
left, driving home right fielder Moises Sierra and catcher Adrian
Nieto for a 4-1 White Sox lead.
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Cubs designated hitter Mike Olt got one back in the fifth, leading
off with a solo home run to left off Danks to cut the White Sox's
lead to 4-2.
Later in the inning, the Cubs had runners on first and second for
center fielder Emilio Bonifacio, who lined a one-out double down the
third base line to score second baseman Darwin Barney, trimming the
deficit to 4-3.
The White Sox replied with three runs in the fifth. They loaded the
bases with no outs for Konerko, who lined a three-run double to the
left field corner for a 7-3 lead.
That was it for Wood. Right-hander Brian Schlitter entered and gave
up a one-out single to Semien, scoring Konerko to make it 8-3.
Wood worked four-plus innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits. He
walked five and struck out three in his worst outing of the season.
"Travis threw a lot of pitches in the first," Cubs manager Rick
Renteria said. "I thought he was settling down and obviously was not
able to get through the fifth and that big damage. But he was trying
to grind through it."
Renteria was ejected for the third time this season after arguing
with plate umpire Tom Woodring during the pitching change.
NOTES: The Cubs placed RHP Pedro Strop on the 15-day disabled list
due to a left groin strain and called up LHP Zac Rosscup from
Triple-A Iowa. ... Cubs LHP Travis Wood made his 100th of career
start. Before getting hit hard Wednesday, he was 3-3 with a 2.92 ERA
in 10 previous interleague starts for the Cubs. ... The Cubs send
RHP Jake Arrieta (0-0, 0.00 ERA) against White Sox RHP Scott Carroll
(1-1, 0.68 ERA) in Thursday's series finale. ... The White Sox
activated 3B Conor Gillaspie from the 15-day disabled list after he
completed a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. They optioned OF
Jordan Danks to Charlotte. ... Interleague play continues for the
White Sox when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit for a three-game
weekend series. ... The four-hit games Tuesday by 2B Gordon Beckham
and OF Moises Sierra marked the second time White Sox teammates had
four-hit efforts against the Cubs. A.J. Pierzynski and Alex Rios had
four apiece in a 2010 game.
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