White Sox nab 20th victory behind another strong pitching performance -- White Sox 4, Royals 2

CHICAGO -- As Ken Williams' wildest dream continues to play out on the field, a confidently cool White Sox team keeps rolling out nail-biting victories.The Sox hit the 20-victory mark well ahead of the rest of baseball as their just-enough offense keeps complementing their dominating pitching. The Sox knocked off the Kansas City Royals for the fifth time this season with a 4-2 victory.

Williams' master-plan this offseason has been well-documented: Take away powerful run producers, beef up a stagnant pitching staff and dust the roster with players that add elements other than tape-measure home runs.

There hasn't even seemed to be a learning curve as the Sox have jumped out to their second-best 26-game start in franchise history with their 20-6 record.

Runs certainly are fun, but victories are even better. After 26 games last season, the Sox were 16-10 and clutching to a half-game lead in the division. They had also posted two 10-run games by this time in 2004 on their way to 23 on the season, the third most in the major leagues behind Boston (25) and the Yankees (24).

This season, the Sox have no 10-run games but did have a season-high nine April 20 against the Detroit Tigers.

The Sox also have yet to post a five-run inning after doing so 23 times last season.

What has helped is a starting staff that has given up one run or less in 12 games so far. Freddy Garcia just missed that mark Wednesday but did give up just two runs in an untidy 6 1/3 innings where he threw 107 pitches.

But this team no longer is about winning with flash. They're winning despite having two players from the heart of the opening-day order hovering around .200, with Paul Konerko at .194 and Jermaine Dye at .207.

So just how good is this pitching staff?

"Great," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "The best pitching staff in April. We had the pitcher of the month (Jon Garland) and we have the best bullpen right now. If we had a Cy Young Award in April we'd have two (Garland and Mark Buehrle), almost three (Garcia)."

Garcia certainly deserves to be mentioned among the staff's best at least. He finally figured out his home woes Wednesday to win his first game in his own park. Garcia had given up a combined seven runs and 14 hits in his previous two home starts.

He did give up eight hits Wednesday with two walks and had only one perfect inning, the fourth. Guillen then decided that 107 pitches was enough. He has been committed to keeping pitch counts in check thinking from the start that this team might be headed into some extra innings come October. He will stick to that strategy and not raise pitch counts.

"I worry about giving my bullpen more rest and giving my starters more rest," Guillen said. "I will need the bullpen more late in the summer. They're not going to start every day the same way they've been starting for a month. I hope they do, God, please. But we have to be prepared for when that moment happens. The bullpen has to be fresh and ready."

The Sox aren't supposed to be reliant on home runs anymore, but two long balls helped the cause. Joe Crede hit a solo home run in the third to tie the score 1-1 after the Royals took the lead in the top of the inning.

In the fourth, Jermaine Dye had a much-needed RBI single and A.J. Pierzynski followed with his first home run in nearly a month and his second on the season. The two runs driven in by Pierzynski doubled his season total.

The Sox then shut down as 11 consecutive batters were retired before Scott Podsednik doubled in the eighth.

Dustin Hermanson was the closer of the night as he went 1 1/3 innings to record his fourth save. Tadahito Iguchi did his part in the ninth with two tough plays up the middle on slow rollers, while Juan Uribe made a sliding catch near the foul line in short left for the final out.

White Sox nab 20th victory behind another strong pitching performance -- White Sox 4, Royals 2

CHICAGO -- As Ken Williams' wildest dream continues to play out on the field, a confidently cool White Sox team keeps rolling out nail-biting victories.The Sox hit the 20-victory mark well ahead of the rest of baseball as their just-enough offense keeps complementing their dominating pitching. The Sox knocked off the Kansas City Royals for the fifth time this season with a 4-2 victory.

Williams' master-plan this offseason has been well-documented: Take away powerful run producers, beef up a stagnant pitching staff and dust the roster with players that add elements other than tape-measure home runs.

There hasn't even seemed to be a learning curve as the Sox have jumped out to their second-best 26-game start in franchise history with their 20-6 record.

Runs certainly are fun, but victories are even better. After 26 games last season, the Sox were 16-10 and clutching to a half-game lead in the division. They had also posted two 10-run games by this time in 2004 on their way to 23 on the season, the third most in the major leagues behind Boston (25) and the Yankees (24).

This season, the Sox have no 10-run games but did have a season-high nine April 20 against the Detroit Tigers.

The Sox also have yet to post a five-run inning after doing so 23 times last season.

What has helped is a starting staff that has given up one run or less in 12 games so far. Freddy Garcia just missed that mark Wednesday but did give up just two runs in an untidy 6 1/3 innings where he threw 107 pitches.

But this team no longer is about winning with flash. They're winning despite having two players from the heart of the opening-day order hovering around .200, with Paul Konerko at .194 and Jermaine Dye at .207.

So just how good is this pitching staff?

"Great," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "The best pitching staff in April. We had the pitcher of the month (Jon Garland) and we have the best bullpen right now. If we had a Cy Young Award in April we'd have two (Garland and Mark Buehrle), almost three (Garcia)."

Garcia certainly deserves to be mentioned among the staff's best at least. He finally figured out his home woes Wednesday to win his first game in his own park. Garcia had given up a combined seven runs and 14 hits in his previous two home starts.

He did give up eight hits Wednesday with two walks and had only one perfect inning, the fourth. Guillen then decided that 107 pitches was enough. He has been committed to keeping pitch counts in check thinking from the start that this team might be headed into some extra innings come October. He will stick to that strategy and not raise pitch counts.

"I worry about giving my bullpen more rest and giving my starters more rest," Guillen said. "I will need the bullpen more late in the summer. They're not going to start every day the same way they've been starting for a month. I hope they do, God, please. But we have to be prepared for when that moment happens. The bullpen has to be fresh and ready."

The Sox aren't supposed to be reliant on home runs anymore, but two long balls helped the cause. Joe Crede hit a solo home run in the third to tie the score 1-1 after the Royals took the lead in the top of the inning.

In the fourth, Jermaine Dye had a much-needed RBI single and A.J. Pierzynski followed with his first home run in nearly a month and his second on the season. The two runs driven in by Pierzynski doubled his season total.

The Sox then shut down as 11 consecutive batters were retired before Scott Podsednik doubled in the eighth.

Dustin Hermanson was the closer of the night as he went 1 1/3 innings to record his fourth save. Tadahito Iguchi did his part in the ninth with two tough plays up the middle on slow rollers, while Juan Uribe made a sliding catch near the foul line in short left for the final out.