Halladay goes 7 1-3 innings, wins for 1st time in 4 starts as Blue Jays edge White Sox 4-3
Associated Press | May 4, 08 2:35 PM CDT in
Sports
Roy Halladay won for the first time in four starts, Matt Stairs scored twice and drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the White Sox 4-3 on Sunday, handing Chicago its season-high fifth straight loss.
Halladay (3-4) had thrown complete games in his previous four starts, but lost the last three. He lasted 7 1-3 innings in this one, giving up three runs _ one earned _ and three hits. Halladay walked none and struck out seven.
Jesse Carlson replaced Halladay and finished the eighth, Jeremy Accardo got the first two outs of the ninth and Scott Downs got the final out for his third save.
Toronto has won a season-high four straight after losing eight of nine.
Jose Contreras pitched a complete game but took the loss for Chicago, giving up four runs and six hits. He walked none and struck out five. Contreras (2-3) has not won back-to-back starts since Sept. 19, 2007.
The White Sox have lost eight of 11 to fall below .500 for the first time since they were 1-2. Chicago has scored just nine runs in its past five games and has the lowest team batting average in the American League at .232.
Lyle Overbay's sacrifice fly gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the second, and the Blue Jays made it 4-0 in the third on a two-run double by Stairs and an RBI single from Vernon Wells.
Halladay was perfect through the first three innings, but gave up three runs and three hits in the fourth. Nick Swisher led off with a double and Orlando Cabrera reached on David Eckstein's throwing error. Jim Thome hit an RBI single, Paul Konerko followed with a run-scoring double and A.J. Pierzynksi capped the rally with an RBI grounder.
Notes:@ Halladay led the majors with seven complete games in 2007, going 4-3 with a 1.97 ERA in those games. ... Chicago is 0-5 on artificial turf this season. ... Right-handers Javier Vazquez (3-2) and Dustin McGowan (1-2) square off in Monday's series finale.
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