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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Scott Kazmir might be the first starting pitcher the Tampa Bay Devil Rays can get excited about.

Kazmir won a career-best fourth consecutive decision when he beat the Chicago White Sox 10-7 Tuesday night, becoming the youngest AL pitcher with six victories this early in a season since Oakland's Vida Blue in 1971.

The 22-year-old left-hander shares the major league lead in wins and has allowed one or fewer runs in four straight starts and five of his past six overall. Since allowing six runs in an opening-day loss at Baltimore, he's 6-1 with a 1.90 ERA.

"This kid is pretty good," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said after Kazmir shrugged off a 29-pitch first inning and tamed the White Sox on 81 deliveries over his final six innings Tuesday night.

And, don't be fooled by the final score. Kazmir left with a 10-1 lead after allowing five hits and striking out eight.

Tampa Bay's leaky bullpen surrendered six runs in the eighth, and Chicago had the tying run at the plate when Tyler Walker -- the fourth Devil Rays pitcher of the inning -- struck out Jim Thome to end the rally.

Obtained in a July 2004 trade that sent Victor Zambrano to the New York Mets, Kazmir (6-2) did not get his first win last season until May 19.

His latest victory gave him a .563 career winning percentage (18-14), just shy of Zambrano's .565 (35-27) for the best in the franchise history.

The Devil Rays have sent three relievers to the All-Star game in the first eight seasons of the club's existence, however they have never had a starting pitcher who's enjoyed the type of success Kazmir is having.

Rolando Arrojo was the All-Star selection during Tampa Bay's inaugural season in 1998. There were questions about how old he was when he signed with the team after defecting from Cuba, and his best years clearly were behind him.

Since the start of the 2005 season, Kazmir has made a major league-best 19 starts in which he's allowed one earned run or fewer. And with four of Tampa Bay's six wins since April 30, he's emerging as the ace the club has never had.

Joe Maddon, in his first season with the Devil Rays, is impressed with the lefty's composure and the way he controls the pace of games. But that doesn't mean Kazmir's youthfulness doesn't show at times.

He caught plate umpire Larry Young's attention in the fifth inning Tuesday night when he jumped in frustration when a two-strike pitch to Scott Podsednick was called a ball. Young took a few steps toward the mound before Maddon trotted out to talk to his pitcher.

"He's a competitor," Maddon said. "That happens."

Podsednick hit an inning-ending groundout, and Kazmir spoke with Young before heading into the dugout.

"It was kind of a crucial spot in the game, so I was just in the moment right there. I jumped up. I didn't mean anything by that. I didn't mean to show anyone up, and I think he understood that," Kazmir said. "He was almost to the mound, and I didn't even notice anybody was talking to me. He was just like: `Calm down. Calm down.' I was like: `What did I do?"

Kazmir went 10-9 with a 3.77 ERA and led major league rookies with 174 strikeouts last season, and the Devil Rays are not surprised by his growth.

He faced the White Sox for the first time Tuesday night and has also won matchups this season against Boston's Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield, and Toronto's Roy Halladay.

Before Wednesday's games, he was fifth in the majors in strikeouts (56) behind Pedro Martinez, Carlos Zambrano, Johan Santana and Aaron Harang.

"Ever since the first game I caught him, his body language, his whole demeanor, has been that veteran demeanor," catcher Toby Hall said. "He goes out there and he knows how good he is, and he shows it."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index