CHICAGO - Jon Garland trusts his catchers, his defense and, most important, himself. That's why he's the league's first seven-game winner this season.
Garland allowed eight hits in eight innings and struck out Miguel Tejada on a 3-and-2 changeup with two on to stop a late Orioles rally Thursday night as the White Sox beat Baltimore 3-2.
"It was one of the best pitches I threw all night. There are some RBIs out there for him and he wants to swing the bat and hit. He swung over the top of it," Garland said of the eighth-inning strikeout.
"I knew if he got on, I was done. If he was going to beat me, he was going to hit something good. ... He's one of the best in the AL. He fouled off a couple of good pitches and things went my way this time."
Garland won his seventh straight start. He's five wins from matching his career high set in each of the past three seasons, over which he is 36-36.
"Garland's ball seemed like it was moving all over the place tonight," Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli said. "Tejada fouled off a couple of tough ones, laid off a couple tough ones and he got him on a good pitch."
Garland, a former Cubs first-round draft pick, has finally combined his physical talent with a stronger mental approach.
"He's more mature and has more confidence in his pitches," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We've given him the opportunity to be who he is, he thought about it and he's performed."
Dustin Hermanson pitched the ninth for his seventh save in as many opportunities. Hermanson has not allowed a run this season, spanning 15 appearances.
A.J. Pierzynski and Juan Uribe homered as Chicago took a 3-0 lead after three innings. Rafael Palmeiro homered for the Orioles in the fifth.
Pitting the teams with the best records in the majors, the opener of the four-game set drew 29,031 on a 53-degree night at U.S. Cellular Field.
Many in the crowd had probably hoped to see Sammy Sosa's return to Chicago, but the former Cubs star didn't make the trip after going on the disabled list this week with a foot abscess and infection.
National League
CARDINALS 10, DODGERS 3: David Eckstein set the table for another St. Louis victory with three hits, helping the host Cardinals beat Derek Lowe and sloppy Los Angeles.
The scrappy shortstop singled, doubled and tripled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. He finished the four-game series 11-for-16.
"Yeah, I had a good series, but we've got another game tomorrow," Eckstein said. "One at-bat feeds into the next one. Just getting to where you feel comfortable and taking good swings, that's the key."
Chris Carpenter struck out eight in seven innings, Yadier Molina had three hits in his first start since spraining his left ankle last weekend and John Mabry hit a two-run double.
The ensemble performance made up for an off day by Albert Pujols. The slugger failed to reach base by a hit or walk for the first time in 43 games dating to last season and struck out three times for the first time this season. After striking out seven times in his first 26 games, he has six strikeouts in the past eight.
D'BACKS 6, ROCKIES 3: Former Devil Ray Jose Cruz hit two homers to lift Arizona in what began as a rare pitchers' duel at Coors Field.
Cruz hit his first homer in the seventh off Shawn Chacon for a 3-1 lead, then another in the ninth off reliever David Cortes to make it 4-2. They were Cruz's third and fourth home runs of the season, giving him his 12th multihomer game.
GIANTS 6, ASTROS 3: Mike Matheny singled in the tying run, and Houston outfielder Lance Berkman's error on the play let in the go-ahead run for visiting San Francisco.
With the Giants trailing 3-2 in the sixth, Matheny, who was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, hit a bases-loaded single to left that Berkman misplayed, allowing Edgardo Alfonzo to score to make it 4-3.
REDS 7, PHILLIES 5: Adam Dunn homered in consecutive at-bats and tied his career high with five RBIs, leading visiting Cincinnati. Dunn hit a two-run shot in the fifth and a tiebreaking three-run drive off Jon Lieber in the sixth for his third multihomer game this season.
