Morning Box Score

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Sep 11, 2010 2:30PM

Sox Rally Past Royals, Gain On Twins
The Sox did what they had to do and got a little help along the way, beating the Royals 4-3 and picking up a game on the Twins in the process. Down 3-1 in the eighth, Alex Rios got the rally started for the Sox with an RBI double to cut the lead to 3-2. And it was then A.J. Pierzynski who followed suit and won the game with a two-run double of his own. J.J. Putz, who pitched a scoreless eighth in relief, got the win while Chris Sale got the save. Mark Buehrle (7 IP, 3R, 7H, 4K) got a no-decision. But we're sure he'll gladly take it as the Sox got the win overall. And now? To win more. Pierzynski said: "Everyone knows what's going on. There's no secrets. Every single person in this clubhouse, every single person in this stadium, every single person in Major League Baseball knows what the situation is. We have to try to win every game. To come from behind in the eighth inning is a huge lift. It was a good team win -- and as big as everyone thought." They hope to get another big win and pick up more ground tonight when Edwin Jackson gets the start (6:10 p.m., WGN).

Zambrano Shuts Down Brewers
Carlos Zambrano gave what is probably his best pitching performance of the season as have gave up just three hits and struck out nine on the way to a 4-0 Cubs win over the Brewers last night. Zambrano also helped his own cause, responsible for knocking in two of the Cubs' four runs last night. Big Z went 8 2/3 innings before Carlos Marmol was brought in to record the final out of the game. Said interim manager Mike Quade, "To me, that was vintage. He had the whole package tonight." Zambrano was also upbeat after: "I want to finish strong and help this team win as many games as possible. That's what I'm doing now, is focusing on what I need to focus on and leaving the rest alone." Ryan Dempster hopes to repeat Zambrano's success tonight when he takes the hill for the Cubs in game two of the series (7:10 p.m., CSN).