From their torrid start to their dreadful slump and sudden resurgence, it sure has been a wild season for the Chicago White Sox.
They are looking better as the All-Star break approaches.
Miguel Gonzalez pitched five-hit ball over seven innings and the White Sox beat the New York Yankees 5-0 on Wednesday night.
The White Sox have won six of eight and 11 of 16. They took two of three from the Yankees and won their fifth straight series.
That's more like it for a team that led the AL Central at 23-10 before going into a huge tailspin.
"Everybody seems to be contributing in one way or another and it's nice," manager Robin Ventura said. "We're playing better baseball, it's that simple. We're playing all-around better baseball."
The White Sox bounced back after getting blanked for the fifth time and handed the Yankees their fifth shutout.
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Tim Anderson capped a four-run second with a two-run double off Michael Pineda (3-8). Gonzalez (2-4) took it from there.
He matched his longest outing of the season and shut down New York after it pounded out a season-high 20 hits in Tuesday's 9-0 romp.
Gonzalez, who went seven innings in a loss at Houston last week, struck out three and walked one. The right-hander was 0-3 with a 7.25 ERA in his previous four starts.
Zach Duke worked 1 1/3 innings, and David Robertson got the final two outs, striking out Chase Headley with runners on second and third to end the game.
"I think that we learned from our success early on, we learned from our failures last month," Adam Eaton said.
Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorious each had three hits for New York. But the Yankees (41-43) missed a chance to reach the .500 mark and dropped to 2-4 on a 10-game trip that takes them to the All-Star break.
"We can't get over the hump," manager Joe Girardi said. "We can't play consistent enough to get over the hump and get to five games over, get to 10 games over and it's a number of different things. It's pitching at times. It's swinging the bats at times. You look at the two games here and we didn't hit with runners on and that was the difference."
Pineda, who had a 2.75 ERA in six June starts, gave up five runs and five hits in six innings.
The White Sox did most of their scoring in the second, pounding out four runs after Pineda retired the first two batters.
Brett Lawrie singled to ignite the rally and scored from second on a base hit by Avisail Garcia, who came in on a 6-for-46 slump. J.B. Shuck added an RBI ground-rule double to left, putting runners on second and third, and Anderson followed with a double to left that made it 4-0.
NO BATTING PRACTICE
Both teams were forced to cancel batting practice after a pipe on the third-base side cracked. Workers dug a trench on the foul side of the base, though it was filled in by the time the game started.
"If we lose a player in a sink hole ...," Girardi said. "Maybe one of their players should walk over it first."
SALE'S PITCH
White Sox ace Chris Sale was "very appreciative" after joining Billy Pierce as the only White Sox pitchers to make five straight AL All-Star teams. He also said it would be "such a thrill" to start, a possibility considering he leads the majors with 14 wins.
"I've always been there and seen the start of the game and just everything that goes into it," he said. "I would be thrilled to do that."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: Carlos Beltran was back at designated hitter after playing the outfield Tuesday for the first time in a week. He has been bothered by a tight right hamstring. "The issue is not gone, so he's probably going to DH more than the outfield for a little bit," Girardi said. Girardi also said he thinks Beltran will be able to play in the All-Star Game after being selected for the ninth time.
White Sox: The White Sox hope to get C Alex Avila (strained right hamstring) back during their series against Detroit at home July 21-24 after placing him on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.
