131

Leave it to Buehrle. And Konerko. And Dye. And Thome.

The White Sox veterans came through last night to end the team's five-game losing streak by beating the Twins, 6-2. Buehrle picked up his seventh win of the season (against one loss) by pitching seven strong innings -- two runs, only one of them earned; eight hits; three strikeouts; no walks. He lowered his ERA to 2.77 and is on track to make it to the All-Star Game in his hometown of St. Louis.

The longball finally made a reappearance, with Paul Konerko poking his fifth home run (a two-run shot) and Jermaine Dye his ninth (a solo blast). Jim Thome stroked a two-run double to give the Sox a comfortable working margin, and by getting two hits, raised his average to .252. That means he comes off the list of NutriSystem Nasties -- players who are not hitting their weight. (Unfortunately, 225-pound Josh Fields, mired in a 1 for 23 slump that has brought his average down to .217, is now on it.) Thome is batting .454 in his last seven games, so maybe he's turned the corner.

With Brian Anderson off the DL, Brent Lillibridge (another of the Nasties) was sent down to Triple-A Charlotte. Thanks for playing, Brent, and here's the home edition of our Major League Baseball Game. Work on your skills, and maybe we'll see you again. Speaking of Charlotte, The Update's favorite whipping boy, Jose Contreras, is proving he can get minor leaguers out. Contreras is getting his forkball over and has given up no runs in 15 innings. His last outing was a complete game shutout of the Toledo Mud Hens (Corporal Max Klinger's favorite team). Ozzie isn't ready to bring Jose back just yet, but the real question is not when it happens, but who drops out of the rotation. The Trib suggests it could be Gavin Floyd, but he's out of options, so he can't be sent down, and the Sox have too much money invested in him. Clayton Richard is fresh off of a really good outing. We'll just have to wait and see what Kenny and Oz decide.

Detroit keeps winning, so even with the victory over Minnesota, the Sox remain 5.5 games out of first. The Magic Number improves by one to 131. Let's keep the Good Guys' winning streak (is one game a streak) and the Twins' losing streak (currently at five) going. Go Sox!