Paul Konerko homered in the eighth inning to break a scoreless tie in the Chicago White Sox’s 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday,
Juan Pierre and Mark Kotsay each had a pair of hits as the White Sox completed the three-game sweep, marking the first time this year that the Braves have been swept.
Takashi Saito (1-3) relieved Atlanta starter Derek Lowe in the eighth and was greeted by a leadoff single from Pierre. Saito got the next two outs before Konerko hammered a homer deep to left for the game’s only runs.
J.J. Putz (3-2) and Bobby Jenks completed the shutout for the White Sox, who have blanked two teams during their current nine-game winning streak. Jenks’ perfect ninth was his 17th save.
Chicago starter Gavin Floyd and Derek Lowe pitched a brilliant scoreless duel for seven innings, although neither factored into the decision.
Atlanta, which managed just a pair of singles, had won five straight and seven of its last eight prior to the series at U.S. Cellular.
Atlanta | Chi. White Sox | |
Derek Lowe | Player | Gavin Floyd |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
7.0 | IP | 7.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 9 |
5 | Hits | 2 |
0.00 | ERA | 0.00 |
Atlanta | Chi. White Sox | |
Eric Hinske | Player | Mark Kotsay |
1 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
1 | TB | 3 |
.333 | Avg | .667 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 2 | .069 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Chi. White Sox | 7 | 1 | 12 | .250 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |