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  Wednesday, Jul. 19 8:05pm ET
Rookie pitcher the latest good news for Sox
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Mark Buehrle certainly didn't look like a player with only three days in the majors.

Mark Buehrle
The Sox got a pleasant surprise Wednesday when 21-year-old rookie Mark Buehrle won his first major-league start.

The 21-year-old lefthander made his first start a memorable one Wednesday night, pitching seven solid innings as the White Sox earned a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins for their fifth straight win.

"I was more nervous having lunch with my parents this afternoon than I was on the mound," Buehrle said. "Once the game started, I felt fine."

Buehrle had pitched only one big-league inning, but he went seven innings and gave up two runs on six hits. A 38th-round draft pick of the White Sox in 1998, Buehrle joined the team from Class AA Birmingham on July 16 after going 8-4 with a 2.28 ERA in 16 starts with the Barons.

Buehrle walked one, hit a batter and struck out five. He had the most trouble with DH David Ortiz, who had three hits.

"Getting some runs early certainly helped him," manager Jerry Manuel said. "But he had a good changeup and he was calm under pressure. A rookie in his first start going seven solid innings is more than a manager could have possibly hoped for."

Brook Fordyce broke out of a 1-for-18 slump with three hits, including a home run, as the White Sox stretched their lead in the AL Central to 10 1/2 games over second-place Cleveland.

The White Sox have baseball's best record (60-34) and have won 29 of their last 40 games. They also have won 21 of their last 27 road games and own the best road record in baseball at 31-17.

They gave Buehrle an early comfort zone with two runs in the first inning and another in the second. The latter blow, Fordyce's home run, ended up being the game-winning run.

"I was a bit tired in the seventh and I began to rush my pitches a bit," Buehrle said while toweling off from an impromptu beer shower given to him by his teammates. "I never thought I could get a major league win this quickly."

Keith Foulke pitched one and two-third hitless innings for his 17th save.

It took the Sox only six pitches to take command of the game. Ray Durham hit Eric Milton's second pitch of the game for a double, and after Tony Graffanino beat out a bunt, Frank Thomas' RBI single scored Durham.

Two pitches later, Magglio Ordonez's single sent Graffanino home to make it 2-0. Paul Konerko then singled to right to load the bases, but Milton retired the next three batters to avoid more trouble.

Fordyce led off the second inning with his fourth homer of the season to make it 3-0. He also singled in the fourth and the seventh.

Milton (8-6) settled down after the second and gave up two hits over the next five innings, but still lost his fourth straight start.

"We just weren't able to scratch back," Milton said. "I put the blame on myself. Anytime you let your team down early, it takes the wind out of your sails."

The Twins got to Buehrle for a run in the third when Cristian Guzman led off with his major league-leading 14th triple and came home on Matt Lawton's RBI grounder.

In the sixth, Buehrle hit Jason Maxwell with the bases loaded to force a home a run and cut the lead to 3-2. But he retired Chad Moeller on a pop fly to end the threat.

"He left the bases loaded twice tonight," Manuel said. "That's a lot of poise for a rookie."

Buehrle also escaped a potential jam in the fourth when he picked Corey Koskie off first base.

"We had our chances tonight," said Ron Gardenhire, who is filling in for Twins' manager Tom Kelly, home with his ailing father. "It was kind of a disappointing game."

Ortiz, who added an eighth-inning single off Bill Simas to add to his three hits off Buehrle, had the first four-hit game of his major league career.

Game notes
Chicago extended several hitting streaks Wednesday _ Konerko has a career best 12-game run while Durham and Thomas have eight-game streaks. ... Guzman's triple leaves him two shy of the Twins' team record set by Rod Carew in 1977. ... The Twins were banged and bruised at game's end. second baseman Jay Canizaro suffered a lower leg contusion in a collision with Graffanino in the second inning and had to leave the game. His status is day-to-day. ... First base coach Jerry White was hit in the face by Matt Lawton's helmet when the outfielder threw it to the ground after flying out to end the seventh inning. White stayed on the ground for a couple of minutes and had to be helped off the field. He also did not return to the game and wore a bandage on his face after the game.
 


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