CHICAGO — Carlos Quentin, booed after committing an error that led to a Texas run, atoned with a two-run homer in the seventh inning Thursday night as the Chicago White Sox rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Rangers.
Freddy Garcia (5-3) pitched seven solid innings and Andruw Jones and Alex Rios also homered for the White Sox, who avoided being swept at home by the Rangers for the first time in 24 years.
Colby Lewis (4-4) was in command for six innings but needed only three pitches in the seventh to blow a 3-2 lead. After A.J. Pierzynski doubled on the first pitch, Quentin sent Lewis' 1-0 delivery just over the right-field fence.
Before getting his seventh homer of the season, Quentin had gone hitless in two at-bats as his average fell to .205. The right fielder had incurred the wrath of fans at U.S. Cellular Field with two outs in the fourth, when he dropped David Murphy's routine fly for a two-base error. Justin Smoak followed with a single to make it 1-1.
Garcia, a former World Series hero who was supposed to be the weak link in Chicago's rotation, leads the team with five wins and has had only two bad starts. The 33-year-old right-hander allowed three runs (two earned), seven hits and one walk.
Matt Thornton pitched a perfect eighth and Bobby Jenks worked a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.
Michael Young's fifth-inning RBI double and Craig Gentry's sacrifice fly in the sixth gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead. Young went 7-for-13 with five RBIs in the series and is batting .419 over his last 18 games. Gentry was playing in place of injured star Vladimir Guerrero.
Rios' homer in Chicago's sixth, his 12th of the season, narrowed the deficit to 3-2.
Jones' second-inning solo shot opened the scoring and gave him 398 career homers, tied with Dale Murphy for 48th all-time. It was his 10th this year but first in 58 at-bats since May 5.
Notes
Guerrero, hit by a ball during batting practice Wednesday, didn't play for a second straight night due to swelling around his left eye. "He could have played, but the way people pitch him tight, I didn't want to risk him getting hurt because he didn't see the ball completely," manager Ron Washington said. "I need Vlad beyond June 3. He's too big a weapon for us." Guerrero is batting .335 with 12 HRs and 44 RBIs. … White Sox 2B Gordon Beckham, one of baseball's top rookies last year but a .200 hitter this season, didn't play. Asked if he simply was giving Beckham a night off, manager Ozzie Guillen said: "So far. I didn't say I'm going to bench him. I'm just saying if someone performs better than him, I have no choice. I need to win some games." Beckham's replacement, Jayson Nix, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. … The White Sox said 3B Mark Teahen, who had a pin inserted into his broken right middle finger Thursday, will miss at least six weeks. Guillen said 43-year-old Omar Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, will be the main 3B for now.