Nix drives in 3 runs as Chisox snap 4-game slide

[August 28, 2009]  BOSTON (AP) -- Jayson Nix drove in three runs and the Chicago White Sox scored four times in both the second and third innings, beating the Boston Red Sox 9-5 on Thursday night to avoid a four-game sweep.

Chicago battered rookie Junichi Tazawa for all nine runs just five days after he pitched six scoreless innings in a 14-1 win over the New York Yankees. Infielder Nick Green pitched two scoreless innings for Boston.

John Danks (12-8) allowed two runs on six hits in six innings to improve to 3-0 in his last four starts and 5-1 in his last eight outings on the road.

J.D. Drew hit two solo homers and Alex Gonzalez added one as the Red Sox hit more than one homer for the 11th time in 13 games and have 48 in August.

Chicago broke a four-game losing streak, snapped a tie for second place in the AL Central with Minnesota and moved four games behind Detroit. The Twins and Tigers were idle Thursday.

Boston remained six games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East and dropped to 1 1/2 games ahead of Texas in the wild-card race.

Tazawa (2-3) pitched a perfect first inning before loading the bases with no outs when he allowed singles by Paul Konerko and Jim Thome and hit Carlos Quentin. Mark Kotsay hit a sacrifice fly, Nix followed with a two-run double and Scott Podsednik had an RBI single.

In the third, A.J. Pierzynski singled, went to third on Konerko's double and scored on Thome's sacrifice fly. Quentin then hit his 15th homer and Nix made it 8-0 with a run-scoring single.

Tazawa retired the first two batters in the fifth before Konerko walked and Thome doubled him home.

Danks allowed just two singles in the first four innings and retired the leadoff batter in the fifth. But Drew and Alex Gonzalez hit back-to-back homers, making it 9-2.

The margin was so big that Boston manager Terry Francona called on Green to pitch for the first time since he reached the majors in 2004. Green, who started 78 games at shortstop this season, threw 90 mph fastballs on his first two pitches and walked three in two hitless innings.

His last pitch was an 88 mph fastball that Podsednik hit sharply to the mound. Green speared it, fired to first baseman Kevin Youkilis and walked to the dugout to the cheers of the fans.

Boston scored twice in the eighth with two outs when Youkilis walked and David Ortiz and Jason Bay hit RBI doubles. Drew hit his 18th homer in the ninth off Bobby Jenks.

NOTES: Thome turned 38 years old Thursday. ... David Cassidy, formerly of TV's Partridge Family, sang the national anthem. ... Alexei Ramirez went 2 for 5 after a 2-for-15 slump. ... Green's hitless pitching stint was the longest by a Red Sox position player since May 17, 1944, when Eddie Lake allowed two runs in 2 1-3 innings against the St. Louis Browns.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD ULMAN]

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