Major League Baseball

Konerko HR lifts ChiSox to 11th straight

Published Jun. 26, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Paul Konerko hit his 19th home run to snap an eighth-inning tie and the Chicago White Sox won their 11th straight game, beating the struggling Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Saturday.

The White Sox are on their longest win streak since a 12-game run in June 1961, and they can thank Konerko for keeping it going. He broke a 2-all tie with one out in the eighth when he connected off reliever Andrew Cashner (0-1), sending the White Sox to their 15th victory in 16 games.

Konerko turned on a 1-2 pitch and the ball reached the left-center seats in a hurry. Fans broke into a "Pau-lie!'' chant as he circled the bases, drawing a curtain call from the slugger.

The home run made a winner of J.J. Putz (4-2), who pitched a scoreless eighth after Freddy Garcia went seven innings.

Matt Thornton worked the ninth for his third save, getting Alfonso Soriano to hit into a game-ending double play after Aramis Ramirez walked, and the White Sox (39-34) moved five games above .500 for the first time since last July 23.

The Cubs' misery continued.

At least there were no tantrums like the one a screaming Carlos Zambrano delivered in Friday's 6-0 loss, when he had to be separated from teammate Derrek Lee in the dugout and got sent home following a four-run first. The Cubs suspended Zambrano indefinitely, and Manager Lou Piniella said he won't have a spot in the rotation when he returns.

The Cubs got another good start from Carlos Silva and a leadoff homer from the struggling Ramirez in the top of the seventh that tied it at 2, but lost for the sixth time in eight games.

The White Sox got a run-scoring single from Alex Rios in the third, and quickly regained the lead after Lee singled home a run in the sixth. Silva started the bottom half by walking Konerko and hitting Carlos Quentin with a pitch for the second time, and Alexei Ramirez delivered a sacrifice fly with one out to give them a short-lived 2-1 lead.

Ramirez, in his second game back after missing 15 with a sprained thumb, tied it when he drove a 2-1 pitch from Garcia just over the center-field wall leading off the seventh for his sixth homer. Soriano followed with a double but was stranded at third.

Garcia went seven innings, allowing two runs and eight hits. He struck out five without a walk but did not figure in the decision after winning five straight starts.

Silva basically matched him, holding the White Sox to two runs and three hits over six innings in another strong start, although he did hit three batters. Considering the bullpen had thrown seven innings in each of the previous two games, the Cubs will certainly take it.

NOTES: The Cubs selected RHP Brian Schlitter from Triple-A Iowa and optioned right-hander Jeff Stevens to the minor league club before the game. Schlitter, who's from suburban Park Ridge, Ill., was 1-1 with 12 saves and a 4.09 ERA in 27 relief appearances with Iowa. Stevens had a 2.81 ERA in 14 relief appearances for the Cubs after being recalled from Triple-A on May 19. ... Cubs OF Kosuke Fukudome snapped a 0-for-13 skid with a third-inning single. ... Former Blackhawks player Dustin Byfuglien got a loud ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard after the sixth inning.

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