ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—When Peter Bourjos’(notes) line drive flew through a hole in
Chicago’s drawn-in infield and skipped on the grass in left field, the Angels
followed their now-familiar drill, charging out of the dugout for another
celebration.

Ever since Los Angeles’ playoff hopes dimmed sharply a week ago, they have
improbably been growing brighter with one spectacular win after another.

Bourjos connected for a bases-loaded single in the ninth inning, and the
Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight
victory, including three in their last at-bat.

“Oh, we never think we’re out of it,” said Torii Hunter(notes), who had two hits.
“There’s a lot of faith in this clubhouse.”

Howie Kendrick(notes) homered and tripled as the suddenly surging Angels matched
their longest win streak of the season, trimming their AL West deficit to 3 1/2
games behind Texas. With the Rangers’ 11-5 loss to Boston, the Angels crept
closer to the division leader just five days after losing three of four in a
head-to-head matchup that left them six games out.

“We know how many games we’re back, but we don’t talk about it,” Kendrick
said. “We’ve still got a month left, plus seven or eight days. Even though we
went down seven games, we never thought we were out of it.”

Chicago, which helped the Angels’ cause last weekend by taking two of three
from Texas, lost for just the sixth time in 17 games. The White Sox erased Los
Angeles’ eighth-inning lead when Paul Konerko(notes) drove in the tying run with a
single that was his 2,000th hit.

“I’m glad it was a meaningful hit in the game,” Konerko said. “It was a
hitter’s hit—a line drive to right, just like my first hit.”

But after Erick Aybar’s(notes) one-out single off Jason Frasor(notes) (3-3), pinch-hitter
Alberto Callaspo(notes) moved him to third with a single—and he alertly advanced to
second on the throw, forcing the White Sox to walk Maicer Izturis(notes) to load the
bases before Bourjos’ hit easily scored Aybar.

“We saw Texas had lost, so that’s a big win,” said Bourjos, who extended
his hitting streak to nine games with his winner. “We’re just trying to climb
back into it.”

Jordan Walden(notes) (4-3) pitched the ninth inning after the Angels got another
strong start from Ervin Santana(notes), who gave up nine hits and four runs, pitching
into the eighth inning in his seventh straight start.

Mark Buehrle(notes) yielded seven hits and four runs over six innings for the White
Sox. Buehrle hasn’t won at Angel Stadium since August 2001, but Konerko’s
eighth-inning hit took him off the hook for his first consecutive losses since
April.

“This is probably one of the worst nights I’ve had,” Buehrle said. “I
didn’t make too many good pitches. I don’t think I was throwing anything close
to really make them work or think about swinging. I was falling behind in the
count with stuff that wasn’t even close, throwing balls in the dirt. It’s
frustrating because, obviously, we need to win.”

Los Angeles scored single runs in each of the first four innings, including
Kendrick’s career-high 11th homer in the second and Torii Hunter’s RBI single in
the third.

Kendrick put a triple in the gap and scored on Aybar’s fly to shallow center
in the fourth, sliding around Tyler Flowers’(notes) tag and nearly taking out home
plate umpire Tony Randazzo. Kendrick was thrown out at the plate in the sixth
inning, however.

Santana nursed a 4-3 lead into the eighth, getting two quick outs before
Alejandro De Aza(notes) singled and stole second. Konerko singled on Santana’s first
two-strike pitch after a mound conference, and Santana headed back to the dugout
moments later with his head hung low.

“Even the last one to Konerko was a good pitch,” Santana said.

Konerko is the 13th player to get his 2,000th hit with the White Sox.
Chicago’s All-Star slugger joined a group including Jim Thome(notes), Frank Thomas, Tim
Raines and Carlton Fisk.

“The first thing I think of is, `How the hell did Pete Rose get 4,000
hits?”’ Konerko said. “Or (Derek) Jeter getting 3,000 hits, or any of those
guys. I mean, you do this from the time you’re a kid until you’re at the stage
where you’ve got a wife and kids, and for someone else to have another 1,000
hits or another 2,000 hits, it just seems like, wow, those guys are good.”

NOTES: Earlier Tuesday, the Angels announced a new five-year, $85 million
contract for ace Jered Weaver(notes), who will pitch against the White Sox on Wednesday
when Los Angeles’ nine-game homestand concludes. Weaver is 14-6 with a 2.10 ERA
this season, starting the All-Star game for the AL last month. … Zach Stewart(notes)
will oppose Weaver in Wednesday’s series finale. … White Sox manager Ozzie
Guillen on Weaver’s contract: “I think he showed me a lot of class. I wish I
was his agent.”

Game of the day: Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels, 10:05 p.m. Both the White Sox and Angels are clinging to faint playoff hopes, and this quick two-game series could help either team stay close. White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-6) took his first loss since June 16 in his last start on Wednesday, and snapped a streak of 18 consecutive starts allowing three earned runs or fewer. Buehrle is just 2-7 with a 4.43 ERA in 19 career appearances against the Angels. Los Angeles right-hander Ervin Santana (9-9) also snapped a long winning streak in his last start Wednesday, taking his first loss since June 21. Santana has a 1.63 ERA since the beginning of July.

Other game to watch: Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m. The Cardinals are falling out of the playoff race and the Dodgers were never in it, but the pitching matchup in this game is the best of the night. Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw (15-5) is a strong Cy Young candidate who has won seven of his last eight starts and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 17 of his 26 starts this season. The Cardinals have won right-hander Kyle Lohse’s last four starts, and Lohse (11-7) seems to be past his early-summer struggles that saw his ERA balloon from 2.13 to 3.46 during June and July.

Games you should have seen:

Seattle 3, Cleveland 2
. Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez broke a 2-2 tie with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning, sending the Indians to their fourth consecutive loss. Cleveland had runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Seattle reliever Brandon League got Ezequiel Carrera to ground out to end the game. Cleveland is a season-high 5 1/2 games behind Detroit in the American League Central.

Los Angeles Dodgers 2, St. Louis 1
. The Dodgers rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth to stun the Cardinals and waste eight-plus sparkling innings by St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter. After Aaron Miles tied the game with a one-out triple to right-center field, Rod Barajas knocked in Miles when he grounded into a fielder’s choice. St. Louis has lost five out of its last seven games to fall nine games out of first place in the National League Central.

Stat you should know:
13. Consecutive wins for the Brewers against the Pirates before Pittsburgh finally beat Milwaukee, 9-2, in the second game of their doubleheader Monday. Pittsburgh is 15 1/2 games out of first place in the NL Central after it was tied for first on July 25.

Star of the night:
Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee pitched seven scoreless innings Monday, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out seven in Philadelphia’s 10-0 win over the Mets. Lee (14-7) has won five consecutive starts, and he has three scoreless outings in his last four.

Chatter: “Soooooo this is what we got…mild grade 2 strain. DL.” — Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, announcing colorfully on Twitter that his groin injury will send him to the disabled list.

East Division
	W	L	Pct	GB
Boston	55	35	.611	–
New York	53	36	.596	1
Tampa Bay	49	41	.544	6
Toronto	46	47	.495	10
Baltimore	36	53	.404	18
Central Division
	W	L	Pct	GB
Cleveland	48	42	.533	–
Detroit	49	43	.533	–
Chicago	44	48	.478	5
Minnesota	42	48	.467	6
Kansas City	37	55	.402	12
West Division
	W	L	Pct	GB
Texas	52	41	.559	–
Los Angeles	50	42	.543	1
Seattle	43	49	.467	8
Oakland	39	53	.424	12

___

Cleveland 8, Baltimore 4

Toronto 16, N.Y. Yankees 7

Minnesota 8, Kansas City 4

Texas 5, Seattle 0

Chicago White Sox at Detroit, 7:05 p.m.

Cleveland at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

Boston at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 13-4) at Toronto (R.Romero 7-8), 1:07 p.m.

Boston (Lackey 6-8) at Tampa Bay (Shields 8-7), 4:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (E.Jackson 5-7) at Detroit (Scherzer 10-4), 4:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Weaver 11-4) at Oakland (Cahill 8-7), 4:10 p.m., 1st game

Cleveland (C.Carrasco 8-6) at Baltimore (Simon 1-2), 7:05 p.m.

Kansas City (Francis 3-10) at Minnesota (Pavano 6-6), 7:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels (E.Santana 4-8) at Oakland (Harden 1-1), 7:35 p.m., 2nd game

Texas (C.Wilson 9-3) at Seattle (F.Hernandez 8-7), 10:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Detroit, 1:05 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Toronto, 1:07 p.m.

Cleveland at Baltimore, 1:35 p.m.

Kansas City at Minnesota, 2:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 4:05 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 4:10 p.m.

Boston at Tampa Bay, 8:05 p.m.

Cleveland at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m., 1st game

Boston at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m., 2nd game

CHICAGO, May 21 (UPI) — Alex Rios ignited a big fourth inning with a two-run homer Saturday that carried the Chicago White Sox to a 9-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rios connected for a two-run blast off former White Sox pitcher Jon Garland (1-4) to begin the uprising, while Paul Konerko and Alexi Ramirez each added two-run singles as the Chisox evened their three-game set with the Dodgers at one win apiece.

Konerko went 3-for-5 with three RBI and Brent Lillibridge added a two-run clout in Chicago’s lop-sided victory.

Mark Buehrle (4-3) earned the win, limiting Los Angeles to two runs on seven hits over seven innings, walking none and striking out one.

Garland was roughed up for seven runs on 11 hits before getting the hook after 3 2/3 innings.

Jerry Sands hit a solo homer for the Dodgers.

CHICAGO (AP) — Mark Buehrle threw seven strong innings to become the career victories leader in interleague play, Paul Konerko drove in three runs and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-2 on Saturday.

Buehrle (4-3) allowed seven hits and two runs to win for the third time in four starts, giving him his 24th interleague victory — breaking his tie with Jamie Moyer atop the career list. He struck out one, and didn’t walk anyone for the second time in three starts. Alex Rios and Brent Lillibridge homered in Chicago’s 15-hit attack, the fifth time this season the White Sox have had at least that many. They broke it open with a six-run fourth against former teammate Jon Garland (1-4). Garland allowed 11 hits and seven runs in 3 2-3 innings.

Alex Rios and Brent Lillibridge homered in Chicago’s 15-hit attack, the fifth time this season the White Sox have had at least that many. They broke it open with a six-run fourth against former teammate Jon Garland (1-4).

Garland allowed 11 hits and seven runs in 3 2-3 innings.

L.A. beat Chicago 6-4 in extra innings Friday night.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)