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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- James Baldwin loves hot weather. The hotter,
stickier and steamier, the better.
So with the temperature climbing into the upper 80s and the
humidity giving Comiskey Park a sauna-like feel, Baldwin couldn't
have been happier.
|  | | James Baldwin's next win will be his 14th this season -- a career best. |
And the Oakland Athletics paid for his good mood.
"I always love hot weather, but today was a really good
sweat," said Baldwin, who allowed five hits in eight innings
Sunday as the Chicago White Sox blanked the A's 13-0.
Baldwin (13-4) matched his career high for wins, set in 1998.
He's 5-1 against the A's in his career.
"That was the best I've ever seen him throw," Oakland manager
Art Howe said. "He had his 'A' game today."
A matchup of 12-game winners was decisively one-sided. While
Baldwin was dominating the A's, the White Sox were knocking around
fellow All-Star Tim Hudson.
Hudson (12-4), who had won his previous two starts and had only
one loss in 12 decisions coming in, gave up eight runs -- seven of
them earned -- and seven hits in just 2 2/3 innings. It was his
shortest outing since going 2 1/3 innings April 20 at Cleveland.
"There was no one batter. Just the whole game," Hudson said.
"It's frustrating, especially when I didn't really give up a
hard-hit ball all day."
Herbert Perry hit a three-run homer and had an RBI single.
Carlos Lee drove in three runs, and Paul Konerko and Jeff Abbott drove
in two apiece for the White Sox.
Perry hit a three-run shot in the eighth on the first pitch he
saw from T.J. Mathews.
Though it was only their sixth victory in 14 games, it was the
second straight for the White Sox and preserved their nine-game
lead over second-place Cleveland in the AL Central.
"Somebody asked yesterday if this team had the killer instinct
the Cleveland clubs had in previous years," Perry said. "That
really got under my skin. I don't think those teams had a better
record at any point than we have now.
"We knew there would be rough stretches. The season is 162
games long."
Not even Baldwin, the White Sox's ace, was immune to the post-All Star
slump, winning just once since the break. But when he took the
mound against the A's, he looked like the pitcher that started the
season with seven straight victories.
He fanned seven and allowed only two hits in the first three
innings, singles to Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada. No Oakland
player got past first until the fourth -- and Randy Velarde reached
second on an error by Konerko.
After allowing homers in 10 consecutive appearances, Baldwin
didn't give up any for the second straight start. He was so
dominant he was still throwing in the mid-90s in the eighth inning.
Of the 127 pitches he threw, 83 were for strikes.
"J.B. was outstanding, superb," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel
said. "Hopefully it will set the tone for the rest of the pitching
staff. He pretty much dominated a very good hitting team."
Baldwin's only troubles came in the fourth and eighth innings.
In the fourth, Oakland put Velarde on third and Ben Grieve at
second on a fielder's choice. But Baldwin struck out Tejada, ending
the inning.
The A's loaded the bases with two out in the eighth on singles
by Ramon Hernandez and Terrence Long, and a walk to Frank
Menechino. But Baldwin struck out Mike Stanley and Grieve grounded
out.
"He just has good stuff," Grieve said. "He's got a great
curveball and fastball. If he's throwing those two pitches for
strikes, he's tough to hit."
Baldwin left the field to a standing ovation, and Mark Buehrle
finished with a hitless ninth.
"He was a joy to catch today," Mark Johnson said. "He worked
fast and he's energetic. He's a different breed."
While Baldwin was flustering the A's, his teammates were beating
up on Hudson. With two outs in the first, Frank Thomas drew a walk
and Magglio Ordonez singled. That brought up Konerko, who sent a
curveball deep into the left-field corner to score Thomas and
Ordonez.
Perry then hit a bloop single between first and right field for
a 3-0 lead.
The White Sox piled on five more runs in the third. After Thomas
led off with a single, Hudson walked Ordonez and Konerko, loading
the bases. The A's got Thomas out at home on a fielder's choice,
but Lee then singled home two runs and Abbott hit an RBI single for
a 6-0 lead.
A double steal put Abbott and Lee on second and third, and Lee
scored on Johnson's groundout. Howe finally pulled Hudson after he
walked Jose Valentin, but the White Sox scored again on an error by
Velarde at second, making it 8-0.
Chicago added two more runs in the seventh on Lee's RBI single
and Abbott's sacrifice fly.
"They beat us soundly today. Outpitched us, outhit us," Howe
said. "Get your tail beat like this and it doesn't look pretty."
Game notes
Baldwin's only loss to Oakland was on Aug. 15, 1997, at
Comiskey. ... After winning six straight, the A's have now lost two
in a row. ... A crowd of 32,952 turned out on a hot, steamy day at
Comiskey.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Oakland Clubhouse
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
RECAPS
Kansas City 3
Boston 1
Cleveland 5
Anaheim 2
Minnesota 7
Detroit 3
Seattle 11
NY Yankees 1
Texas 11
Toronto 6
Tampa Bay 7
Baltimore 4
Chi. White Sox 13
Oakland 0
Florida 9
Cincinnati 6
Philadelphia 10
Colorado 9
Houston 8
Montreal 1
San Francisco 7
Pittsburgh 1
Arizona 9
NY Mets 5
San Diego 8
Chicago Cubs 6
Atlanta 6
St. Louis 4
Milwaukee 9
Los Angeles 6
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jerry Manuel and the White Sox were looking for a dominating performance.
wav: 103 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
White Sox pitcher James Baldwin knew it was going to be a good day.
wav: 146 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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