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Thursday, Apr. 6 8:05pm ET
Durham, Thomas, Lee go deep off Loaiza | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- James Baldwin gave the Chicago White Sox exactly what they needed Thursday night. The right-hander retired the first 13 batters and allowed two runs and six hits in eight innings in Chicago's 6-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. In the first three games of the season-opening series, Chicago starters Mike Sirotka, Kip Wells and Jim Parque gave up 16 runs in 12 2/3 innings. "We can score runs," Baldwin said. "But we've got to hold the opposition down. If we do that we're going to win some games." The White Sox won their second straight to split the series. "That was a real big outing for us," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said. "To shut down a team that had scored a lot of runs against us, it's a huge plus." Baldwin (1-0), who struck out three and walked two, didn't allow a baserunner until the fifth inning when Ruben Mateo reached on an infield hit. Mateo went to second on David Segui's single, both runners advanced on a groundout, and Mateo scored on Frank Catalanotto's infield single. Tom Evans singled in Segui to make it 5-2. Baldwin was in trouble in the eighth with runners on first and second and two out, but he struck out Mateo to preserve the three-run lead. Ray Durham homered on the first pitch of the game and Frank Thomas and Carlos Lee also connected for Chicago. Durham hit Esteban Loaiza's first pitch into the right-field seats to set a White Sox record with his 10th leadoff homer. Tim Raines had nine leadoff homers for Chicago. "I was just trying to get the first pitch for a strike," Loaiza said. "It was a hanging slider that I probably overthrew." Lee hit a three-run shot in the fourth to give Chicago a 4-0 lead, and Thomas made it 5-0 in the fifth with his first homer of the year. Thomas was 3-for-4. "This was a very good win tonight after losing the first two," Thomas said. "This is a good team we beat the last two days." Thomas, trying to bounce back from a disappointing '99 season, was 8-for-16 with four RBIs in the series. "I've got my focus on," Thomas said. "I'm getting back to basics." Chicago added a run in the ninth on Jose Valentin's RBI single. Loaiza (0-1) allowed 10 hits and all six runs in 8 1-3 innings. After overextending their bullpen in the first three games, the Rangers needed their starter to go deep into the game. "I just wanted to do the best job possible," Loaiza said. "I told (the relievers) I was going to give them my best performance and give them some rest." Game notesThe Rangers signed right-hander Terry Mathews and assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma. Mathews, 35, was released by Tampa Bay at the end of spring training. He pitched for Texas in 1991-92. ... With seven total bases, Thomas has 2,818, moving him past Harold Baines for third place in team history. ... Lee has a career batting average of .371 (13-for-35) and three homers against the Rangers. ... Texas pitchers have allowed 15 doubles in the four games. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chi. White Sox Clubhouse Texas Clubhouse RECAPS Kansas City 9 Toronto 3
Chi. White Sox 6
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