Dye's two homers propel White Sox past Indians

CHICAGO (AP) -- Jermaine Dye watched A.J Pierzynski go hard into second base to help break up a double play. Dye then delivered big shot of his own.

Dye hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning, and added solo shot in the seventh, and the Chicago White Sox won their seventh straight game with a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.

Michael Aubrey hit a solo home run in the second inning for the Indians, who have lost a season-high five straight games.

With a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, Indians starter Paul Byrd (2-4) allowed a leadoff single to Orlando Cabrera and walked Pierzynski.

Carlos Quentin followed with a sharp grounder to third baseman Casey Blake. Blake started what could have been a 5-4-3 double play, but Pierzynski slid hard at second, putting pressure on second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera.

Cabrera got off an accurate throw, but first base umpire Paul Schrieber called Quentin safe. After Indians manager Eric Wedge argued the call, Dye hit a 2-1 pitch into the left field seats, putting the White Sox ahead.

"You can't teach hustle. No matter if you're hitting good or you're struggling you can still go out and hustle. Certain plays are the key in the ballgame," said Dye. "It definitely was a big play. Anytime you break up a double play with the middle of the lineup coming up, you never know what can happen."

Byrd saw the play differently.

"Instead of letting Jermaine Dye hit a sacrifice fly or making my pitch, I tried to strike him out," said Byrd. "The play definitely changed the game but I can't cry about it or blame anybody else. The umpire made a mistake but I have to adapt and overcome that and make the pitch."

Javier Vazquez (5-3) overpowered a struggling Indians lineup with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and ended his outing by striking out Jhonny Peralta.

"He seemed to get better as the game was going on. He didn't have a real good breaking ball tonight, but he battled through it," Pierzynski said.

Jim Thome followed Dye's eighth home run of the season in the seventh with his second homer in as many days and ninth on the season.

Thome and Paul Konerko chased Byrd (2-4) in the sixth with back-to-back singles. Joe Crede greeted Indians reliever Jorge Julio with an RBI double and Alexei Ramirez added a sacrifice fly to give the White Sox a 5-2 lead.

Byrd allowed five runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked one.

He was cruising until the fifth inning. He only threw 55 pitches until the sixth and didn't allow his first hit until Nick Swisher singled in the fifth.

"I don't think they're happy and I don't think they should be. But this is where the toughness has to stand out," Wedge said. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves. we can't drop our heads. You have to stand up and take it. Look in the mirror and face it head on and keep fighting. We've got to find a way to work through this and we will."

Travis Hafner hit an RBI double in the sixth inning off Vazquez.

Game notes
Aubrey, who made his major league debut on Sunday, has homered in his first two major league starts. ... Indians LF David Dellucci made a leaping catch near the fence in left in the fifth inning, robbing Crede of extra bases. ... Dye had his 18th career two home run game. ... Thome has homered four times in five games against his former team.