Arlington, TX (Best E Casino) - Ian Kinsler extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 25 games with a 3-for-5 day, and drove in three, as Texas held on for a 12-11 win over Chicago in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Max Ramirez finished 3-for-5 with a double and three runs batted in, while Milton Bradley went 2-for-5 with a home run for the Rangers, who pounded out 17 hits -- six for extra bases. Texas goes into the All-Star break with a 50-46 record, in third place in the American League West, 7 1/2 games behind the Angels.
"The way the team hits, you can never count us out of a ballgame," Rangers outfielder David Murphy said. "Every time they closed the gap, we answered with some more runs."
Starter Matt Harrison gave up five runs on seven hits in just 2 2/3 frames, and each Rangers pitcher gave up at least one run. Jamey Wright (6-4) took the win after throwing 1 2/3 innings and allowing one run on two hits.
"I put myself in too many situations," Harrison said. "Didn't pitch as well as I'd like, but just have to take it as a learning experience."
The White Sox put together a 22-hit attack led by Jermaine Dye, who went 4- for-5 with a homer, double and three RBI. Orlando Cabrera finished 3-for-6 with three RBI, while Jim Thome went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and one run batted in.
Chicago goes into the break at 54-40, leading the AL Central by just 1 1/2 games in front of Minnesota.
White Sox starter Jose Contreras gave up seven runs on 10 hits in four-plus innings. Boone Logan (2-2) took the loss after pitching to three batters in the seventh and allowing three runs -- one earned -- without recording an out.
There were only two innings in the entire game in which one team didn't score -- the fourth and the sixth. The rest of the game was a back-and-forth affair, and in the bottom of the eighth, RBI singles from pinch-hitter Brandon Boggs and Ramirez provided some insurance for Texas, as the club took a 12-8 edge.
They needed every one of those runs, as the White Sox staged a comeback against C.J. Wilson in the ninth. Toby Hall and Juan Uribe led off with singles to put runners on the corners.
Cabrera then singled to center, plating Hall, and a single from Alexei Ramirez loaded the bases with no outs. Carlos Quentin hit a weak pop-up just beyond the infield on the first-base side, but Dye punched a single through the left side to score two runs, bringing Chicago within one.
The comeback, though, fell short as Wilson got both Thome and Paul Konerko to strike out looking, ending the game.
The fireworks started immediately, as, with Alexei Ramirez on base after a single, Quentin blasted his 22nd homer of the season in the first inning. Konerko later drove in Dye with a ground out to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.
Bradley had an RBI single in the home first, though Cabrera countered with a run-scoring hit in the second to restore the White Sox's three-run edge.
The Rangers tied the game in the second on an RBI double from Max Ramirez and a two-run double from Kinsler. After Thome doubled to plate Dye in the top of the third, the Rangers charged ahead in the bottom half.
Bradley led off the frame with his 19th homer of the season, and RBI hits from Max Ramirez and Kinsler gave Texas a 7-5 lead. Chicago got one run back in the fifth on Cabrera's RBI hit, plating Nick Swisher, and tied the game in the seventh, as Uribe's single also plated Swisher.
Marlon Byrd doubled down the left field line to bring in David Murphy in the bottom of the seventh, and Michael Young's two-run single later in the frame gave Texas a 10-7 lead. Dye slugged his 21st homer of the year to lead off the eighth, making it a 10-8 game.
Game Notes
Kinsler is hitting .424 (45-for-106) during his hit streak...Chicago's Nick Masset (two innings) and Matt Thornton (one inning) were the only pitchers in the game not to allow a run...Chicago left 13 runners on base, while Texas stranded 11...Uribe finished 3-for-5...Konerko was the only White Sox starter not to register a hit...Josh Hamilton and Ramon Vazquez were the only Rangers starters not to have a hit.
