PHILADELPHIA—Tom Gorzelanny threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and Starlin Castro and Jeff Baker had RBI singles to lead the Cubs to their fourth consecutive victory 4-1 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.A night after the Phillies struggled against Pittsburgh’s Zach Duke, Gorzelanny kept them off-balance until he was struck by Carlos Ruiz’s line drive in the seventh inning.Ruiz’s one-out shot struck Gorzelanny’s left ring finger, then rolled toward first. He retrieved the ball and flipped to Derrek Lee, who scooped it for the out. After a mound conference, Gorzelanny left. He had X-rays taken, which came back negative.John Grabow finished the seventh inning, but ran into trouble in the eighth, when the Phillies threatened with Ryan Howard up with one out and runners on first and third.Grabow made a nice play on a slow roller for the second out, while a run scored. Carlos Zambrano got the final out of the inning with an assist from Castro, who fielded the ball at deep short and made a strong throw to nip Jayson Werth, with the tying run on second.Carlos Marmol earned his seventh save in nine chances by getting the final three outs.Castro, the youngest player in the major leagues, singled in the first run off the game’s oldest player, Jamie Moyer (5-3), in the third inning. Jeff Baker stretched the lead to 2-0 with a seventh-inning single. Both run-scoring innings began with two outs and nobody on, and featured shots off the glove of a diving Placido Polanco.Moyer worked seven inning for Philadelphia, allowing two runs on four hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts.Chase Utley returned to the lineup after missing two games with flu-like symptoms. He went 1 for 3 with a single.The Cubs added two insurance runs in the ninth inning on Xavier Nady’s bases-loaded single up the middle with two outs.

NOTES—Philadelphia catcher Brian Schneider (strained left Achillies strain) is scheduled to head to Triple-A Lehigh Valley for a rehab assignment. … The Cubs placed reliever Esmailin Caridad on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain, and recalled Jeff Stevens from Triple-A Iowa. Caridad felt soreness after facing one batter Tuesday against Colorado. … Zambrano is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday, as he works toward increasing his workload for a return to the rotation. The Phillies had 45,140 fans, the 61st consecutive sellout at Citizens Bank Park.

Old Pal Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer and Joe Saunders pitched 7 2/3 strong innings to lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to a 3-2 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday.Hunter hit his third home run in three games and Saunders (3-5) allowed just one run and four hits to help the Angels bounce back after losing consecutive games to the Texas Rangers.Saunders, who snapping a three-game losing streak with his second career shutout in a 4-0 win over Oakland on Friday, struck out four and walked two.Fernando Rodney got one out in the eighth and Brian Fuentes survived a shaky performance in the ninth for his fifth save in seven opportunites.Paul Konerko led off the ninth with a home run for the Sox, and A.J. Pierzynski singled with one out. Omar Vizquel ran for Pierzynski and advanced to second on a passed ball with two outs. However, Fuentes finally recovered to strike out Alexei Ramirez to end the game.The White Sox wasted another strong outing from John Danks (3-3), who allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits. He struck out eight and walked two.The Sox has totaled four runs while losing Danks’ last three starts. He gave up three runs in seven innings of a 3-2 loss at Minnesota on May 12.The White Sox have not won back-to-back games since a three-game sweep of the Mariners on April 23-25.Before the game, general manager Kenny Williams met with the White Sox. He says he can’t remember the last time he felt the need to address the club. The Sox are 16-23 and still trail AL Central-leading Minnesota by 7 1/2 games.Williams says he hasn’t had any conversations about replacing manager Ozzie Guillen or changing the coaching staff.Williams, in his ninth season as GM, has always been adamant letting his players and coaching staff know where they stand.Danks gave up a two-out walk to Bobby Abreu in the fourth inning and Hunter followed with a two-run shot to left. It was the Angels’ first hit of the game and Hunter’s seventh homer of the season.The next hit for the Angels didn’t come until Juan Rivera singled with one out in the eighth. Mike Napoli followed with another single. With two outs and runners on first and second, White Sox third baseman Jayson Nix booted Erick Aybar’s grounder. Nix still thought he had a shot at the force at second and rushed an errant throw that ended up in right field. Rivera scored from second and Nix was charged with two errors on the play.The White Sox failed to score in the sixth inning, despite having runners at second and third with one out. Andruw Jones popped out to second base and Alex Rios hit a shallow fly out to left.The Sox first run came in the second inning. Konerko opened with a single, moved to third on Pierzynski’s double with one out and scored on Carlos Quentin’s sacrifice fly. Saunders rebounded by retiring the next 10 batters he faced.

NOTES—Jake Peavy will start on Thursday against the Angels and Mark Buehrle will start Friday against the Florida Marlins. Buehrle was scheduled to start on Wednesday but Monday’s rainout in Detroit backed up the starters one day. The White Sox want to break up their two left-handed starters, Danks and Buehrle. … Konerko hit his 14th home run.

SAN JOSE—You’ve heard of Double Secret Probation. How about Double Home Ice Advantage. That’s what the Blackhawks now have against the San Jose Sharks.Dustin Byfuglien and Jonathan Toews scored on deflections 90 seconds apart in the second period and the Blackhawks rolled to their record-tying seventh straight road win in the playoffs, 4-2 over San Jose in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday.Andrew Ladd and Troy Brouwer also scored and Antti Niemi made 25 saves for the Blackhawks, who have a 2-0 series lead. This is the closest the Hawks have been to making the Stanley Cup Final since getting there in 1992 when they swept Edmonton in the West Finals.The series moves to the United Center for Game 3 on Friday night and Game 4 on Sunday. That may not be the best thing for the Blackhawks, who are only 3-3 at home this postseason.They’ve had their most success on the road, clinching the first two series in Nashville and Vancouver before taking the first two against the top-seeded Sharks in a heavyweight conference final.The Blackhawks are the fifth team to win seven straight road games in a postseason, joining Colorado (1999), New Jersey (1995), and the New York Islanders (1980 and ’82). Patrick Marleau scored both goals for the Sharks, who dropped to 0-5 at home in two trips to the conference final. They also lost the first two at home to Calgary in 2004 before tying the series with two road wins. They lost Game 5 at home and were eliminated the following game — the closest they’ve ever been to the Stanley Cup Finals. Now unless they can win at least one game in the U.C. to avoid the sweep, the Sharks won’t have another shot to win at home this postseason. San Jose has lost all seven playoff series after falling behind 2-0.After winning the opener on Byfuglien’s tiebreaking goal in the third period, the Blackhawks took control of Game 2 midway through the second period. Byfuglien and his 257-pound body played a big role once again.With Byfuglien planted right in front of Evgeni Nabokov, Patrick Kane threw a puck on net from just inside the blue line that deflected off Byfuglien’s stick for a 2-0 lead 6:59 into the second.With Douglas Murray in the penalty box for roughing, the Blackhawks added to their lead when Duncan Keith fired a shot from the point with Toews and Byfuglien in front of the net. This time Toews got his stick on the puck to redirect it past Nabokov, make it 3-0 and silence the sellout crowd that greeted the Sharks with earsplitting applause less than two hours earlier.Marleau gave the Sharks some life when Joe Thornton found him alone in the circle with a pretty cross-ice pass that cut the deficit to 3-1. But the hole proved too big for the Sharks to overcome, especially after Brouwer tipped in a shot from Niklas Hjalmarsson midway through the third to make it 4-1.San Jose’s frustration was evident when Thornton slashed Dave Bolland while lining up for a faceoff, leading to a Hawk power play.The Sharks looked the more desperate team early, generating most of the scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes but being unable to get a puck past Niemi. Devin Setoguchi was stopped by a pad save off a rebound, Thornton had a deflection and a one-timer turned aside seconds apart and Joe Pavelski nearly scored on a wraparound.The Blackhawks made the most of their chances as Ladd carried the puck in from the neutral zone and beat Nabokov with a wrist shot from just inside blue line for the only goal of the first period. Once again, it was Thornton’s line that was on the ice for that goal, dropping him to minus-3 on the series and minus-9 in the playoffs.

NOTES—Toews assisted on Byfuglien’s goal extending his points streak to 11 games. … The Blackhawks are 17-2 all-time in the playoffs when taking a 2-0 series lead.One time they lost in that situation was in the infamous 1971 Stanley Cup Finals to Montreal.

Just about the only person not surprised about Carlos Silva’s unblemished record is Silva himself. After going 5-18 with a 6.81 ERA in two frightful seasons for the Seattle Mariners, Silva is 5-0 with the Cubs. His latest victory came Tuesday night, when he gave up Todd Helton’s first home run of the season but otherwise pitched six splendid innings in the Cubs 6-2 victory against the Colorado Rockies.Ryan Theriot‘s two-run single capped a three-run eighth inning that broke open the game.Even with Silva, the Cubs are a disappointing 18-22, but they take a three-game winning streak into a road trip that starts Wednesday at Philadelphia. Lou Piniella said he had no idea what to expect from Silva, who came to the Cubs from Seattle in December in the Milton Bradley trade. The Mariners wanted to get rid of the 31-year-old right-hander so badly they paid the Cubs to take him.He got nice support Tuesday from three rookies as the Cubs won a series for only the fourth time this year. Tyler Colvin had three hits, Starlin Castro drove in two runs and James Russell pitched an impressive inning of relief.Silva took a five-hit shutout and a 3-0 lead into the seventh. Then he issued his only walk — to Troy Tulowitzki — and made his only mistake: a 3-2 fastball that Helton deposited into the right-field bleachers.It was the first home run since Sept. 30 for Helton, once one of baseball’s most feared power hitters.Helton, who has nine RBI this season, averaged 35 home runs and 118 RBI in his first seven full years with the Rockies but only 15 and 73 over the past five years.Silva departed after the home run and reliever Esmailin Caridad walked Miguel Olivo on four pitches. Russell came on to retire the side on two strikeouts and a pop-up.Then came the Cubs three-run eighth off Rafael Betancourt. Colvin singled, Soto walked, Castro singled to make it 4-2 and Theriot had his two-run hit.Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin (2-2) allowed three runs on five hits and five walks in 5 2/3 innings. After pitching 14 1/3 scoreless innings in winning his first two starts, the 22-year-old rookie has given up nine runs over 10 2/3 innings in two losses.Colvin, Castro and Kosuke Fukudome drove in the fourth-inning runs.

NOTES—Silva also won his first five decisions in 2004. He became the first Cub to start 5-0 since Greg Maddux in 2006 and the first starter to begin his Cub career with five victories since Mark Clark in 1997 on a team that started that year 0-14….Castro’s RBI’s were his first since he drove in six runs in his May 7 big-league debut…..Olivo,formerly of the White Sox, left the game in the seventh after landing face-first in the dirt while stealing second base. Manager Jim Tracy said Olivo complained of a sore neck…..Rockies CF Carlos Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

DETROIT—For a change, Freddy Garcia is healthy and the White Sox are happy.Juan Pierre’s two-run double and run-saving catch in the fourth inning and Garcia solid start helped the White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-2 Tuesday.The White Sox had lost six of nine and haven’t won consecutive games since their season-high three-game streak almost a month ago.Garcia (3-2) gave up two runs over six innings, going five starts without a loss for the first time since the end of the 2006 season.After Garcia closed 2006 strong in his previous stint in Chicago, injuries led to him going a combined 5-10 with Philadelphia, Detroit and the White Sox the next three seasons.The crafty right-hander looks as if he could be back, winning three straight games after giving up two runs in each start.Rick Porcello (3-4) allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings.Pierre led off the game with a walk and scored, hit a two-out double to give the Sox a two-run lead in its three-run fourth and dove to rob Gerald Laird of an RBI single that would have made it 4-3 in the inning.Detroit’s Johnny Damon hit a homer — his third this month — in the first inning and Brennan Boesch doubled and scored a go-ahead run in the second.Brandon Inge got to third with one out after putting the Tigers ahead in the second inning, but they continued to struggle scoring runners from third with one or fewer outs.Garcia stranded Inge by getting Laird to ground out and Adam Everett to pop out.Boesch led off the fourth with a single, stole second and advanced on a fly. He didn’t get home because Ramon Santiago grounded out, and the rookie made a mistake by not running. Laird later lined out to Pierre.Austin Jackson doubled in the fifth, advanced on a wild pitch and was stranded because Damon struck out and Miguel Cabrera lined out. Damon’s bat slipped out of his hands when he swung and missed, getting fooled by a slider with knuckleball action.Leyland lamented that the Tigers didn’t force Garcia to throw more strikes.Detroit entered the game with a .475 success rate of scoring runners from third with less than two outs, leading just three teams in the category.Damon said he and his teammates have to improve in those situations.Inge had a homer in the sixth inning overturned by video review, which gave the umpiring crew a chance to see that his blast to left was about a foot outside the pole.The Tigers, who won their previous two series at home against the Red Sox and Yankees, open a road trip Wednesday night at Oakland with an 8-11 record on the road after winning 14 of 20 at home.

NOTES—Sergio Santos, J.J. Putz and Bobby Jenks each pitched an inning of scoreless relief…..Boesch, who is hitting .387, extended his hitting streak to eight games with his 10th multihit game in his 20-game career…..The Sox open a homestand Wednesday against the Angels…..Detroit’s Carlos Guillen, who has been on the DL for almost a month with strained left hamstring, expects to start a rehab assignment this weekend for Triple-A Toledo…..Ozzie Guillen didn’t answer questions from the media before the game and joked about it with a clubhouse attendant. “I’m not talking, tell them, Curtis Granderson,” Guillen said to a young man, who looked a little like the former Tigers outfielder.

Aramis Ramirez got back to doing what he does best: driving in big runs to help the Cubs win.Ramirez, the team’s most reliable hitter since arriving seven years ago, snapped out of the worst slump of his career with a two-run, 11th-inning homer Monday night. His first home run since April 15 lifted the Cubs to a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.Ramirez, who has four homers, also drove in a first-inning run. The season-high three RBI give him 20 this season. He averaged 32 homers and 105 RBI from 2004-08 before being limited by injuries last season. He’s batting .175 — well below his .300 average as a Cub going into this year.His troubles as the cleanup hitter have been a big part of the Northsiders 17-22 start.Asked if he was relieved to deliver the Cubs’ first game-ending homer this year, Ramirez said: “No, I’m still hitting .170. I’ve got to get hits and drive in runs and just help this team. We need runs, and I’m one of the key guys.” Starlin Castro opened the 11th with his third hit of the game, a single off Matt Belisle (1-1). After Derrek Lee lined out, Ramirez lined a 1-0 pitch through a stiff wind into the left-field bleachers.While the Cubs won for only the fourth time in their last 13 games, the Rockies had a three-game winning streak snapped.Sean Marshall (3-1), the fourth Cubs pitcher, worked two perfect innings, striking out four.Cubs starter Randy Wells allowed one run on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, but the bullpen couldn’t protect a late 2-1 lead.John Grabow opened the eighth by allowing Seth Smith’s single and walking Brad Hawpe. After center fielder Marlon Byrd made a diving catch on Troy Tulowitzki’s sinking liner, Grabow walked Todd Helton to load the bases.Carlos Marmol, unable to convert his first five-out save this season, walked Miguel Olivo on four pitches to force in the tying run before getting Ian Stewart to ground into a double play. Marmol then struck out the side in the ninth.Colorado starter Aaron Cook allowed two runs — one earned — on seven hits in seven innings. He came in with an 8.84 road ERA and still hasn’t won away from Coors Field since last July.Colorado tied it at 1 in the third as Carlos Gonzalez doubled with two outs, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, and Smith followed with a single.After shortstop Tulowitzki’s error on Mike Fontenot’s grounder kept the fourth inning alive, Koyie Hill snapped an 0-for-12 skid with an RBI single.

NOTES—Lou Piniella said Carlos Zambrano would be “stretched out” so he can be switched from short to long relief. Zambrano, a $91.5 million former All-Star, already had gone from the rotation to the bullpen. Piniella refused to say the Cubs were getting Zambrano ready to return to the rotation, but Zambrano told reporters he believes he’ll be a starter again……Rockies closer Huston Street strained his groin during a rehab appearance at Double-A Tulsa on Saturday. Street, who had 35 saves last year, has been on the DL all this season with right shoulder inflammation. Colorado hoped to have him back next week….Lee struck out twice and grounded into two double plays.

“Dale brings with him a proven track record and an impressive franchise-building resume that we believe is the perfect fit for the future of the Panthers organization,” Florida’s managing partners, Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel, said in a statement.

Tallon was named Hawk’s general manager in 2005 but was demoted to a senior adviser of hockey operations position in 2009 — less than two months after the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference finals.The Blackhawks drafted young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews during Tallon’s tenure as the team’s GM, and he was credited with trades and free-agent acquisitions that helped turn around the once-struggling franchise. Tallon has quite a challenge awaiting him in Florida. The Panthers, who finished last in the Southeast Division this year, haven’t appeared in a playoff game since the 1999-00 season. They also haven’t won a playoff series since 1996 or a playoff game since 1997. Many feel Tallon was moved aside by Scotty Bowman in a power play to clear the GM post for his Son Stan.

“I look forward to getting to work and will immediately evaluate our club’s framework, as we diligently prepare for the upcoming draft and free agency signing period,” Tallon said in the statement.

Sexton, who was officially named Florida’s GM in Oct. 2009, oversaw the team’s contract negotiations, scouting, administration and player development after Jacques Martin left the franchise in June to coach the Montreal Canadiens.