PITTSBURGH—Paul Maholm and his Pirates teammates aren’t looking at the National League Central standings or checking the out-of-town scores. Too early in the season, the lefty starter said. Funny, because it’s been a long time since Pittsburgh’s been this good this late. Andrew McCutchen homered and drove in five runs, and the Pirates beat the hapless Cubs 9-1 on Sunday to enter the All-Star break with their best record in 19 years.The Pirates did that in front of another big crowd (31,428) at PNC Park on Sunday, improving to 7-1-1 in their past nine home series.Maholm allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings, and McCutchen had a three-run homer and two sacrifice flies. Neil Walker went 3 for 4, and Alex Presley had two hits and scored two runs for Pittsburgh.The surprising Pirates (47-43) have their best record and are closer to first place this late in the season than at any time since their most recent winning season in 1992.Rookie Darwin Barney had two hits for the Cubs, who have lost seven of 10. A day after he made the All-Star team for the first time, McCutchen already had a sacrifice fly when he came up with Presley and Walker aboard in the third. He sent an 0-1 pitch from Ramon Ortiz (0-2) into the Cubs’ bullpen in left-center for his 14th homer.During both the first and third innings, Presley singled and Walker hit a one-out double before McCutchen came up.Walker tripled leading off the fifth to chase Ortiz. He scored on McCutchen’s fly ball against Chris Carpenter.Maholm (6-9) allowed four hits, finishing with eight strikeouts and no walks. The left-hander improved to 9-2 in his career against the Cubs and has allowed only one run in 23 1/3 innings against them this season. Reed Johnson scored on Aramis Ramirez’s fielder’s choice in the fourth for the Cubs first run off Maholm in 19 innings this season. Johnson started the inning with a double and moved to third on Starlin Castro’s single.he only other hits Maholm were by Barney, in the sixth and eighth. Chris Resop got Johnson to fly out to end the eighth, and Jose Veras finished the four-hitter.Since shutting out the Cubs on May 28, Maholm is 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in nine starts.Via hit batters and Pittsburgh errors, the Cubs had baserunners Sunday, but the Pirates turned a double play in each of the first four innings.Making his second start since his contract was purchased from Triple-A Iowa, the 38-year-old Ortiz was charged with six runs and seven hits.Ortiz realizes that he might not be in the Cubs’ plans coming out of the All-star break, particularly after such a shaky performance.

NOTES—Pittsburgh RHP Kevin Correia was added to the NL All-Star team as a replacement for Phillies LHP Cole Hamels. The selection gives the Pirates three All-stars for the first time since 1990. … The Pirates are expected to activate LHP Joe Beimel from the disabled list in time for their next game on Friday. … Walker has hit safely in all 18 of his career games against the Cubs and McCutchen has reached safely in each of his past 23 games against the Cubs,who lost for the 15th time in its past 23 games, but all but one of the previous defeats in that stretch were by three runs or less…..Ramirez turned down a last minute invite to play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game,saying he already had plans to spend the time off with his family in the Dominican Republic.

Anthony Swarzak dominated over six innings, and the Twins got back to beating the White Sox with a 6-3 victory on Sunday. The Twins head into the All-Star break with nine wins in 12 games after taking three of four in this series. They shook off a 4-3 loss on Saturday that snapped a nine-game winning streak against the Sox dating to last season, getting an RBI single by Drew Butera and run-scoring double by Jason Repko in the fourth before tacking on three more while knocking out Jake Peavy (4-3) in the fifth.That was more than enough for Swarzak (2-2), who simply made it look easy while filling in for the injured Scott Baker (strained right flexor muscle). The 25-year-old right-hander allowed just four hits and one run while striking out five and walking two as Minnesota beat the Sox for the 29th time in 36 games.In the end, more often than not, he’s exhaling, though.Peavy ran into trouble with two outs in the fourth when he walked Rene Tosoni and Tsuyoshi Nishioka before Butera and Repko came through, making it 2-0, and he didn’t make it out of the fifth as the White Sox lost for the fifth time in six games.Alexi Casilla and Joe Mauer started that rally with singles, putting runners on first and third before Michael Cuddyer made it a three-run game with a sacrifice fly to deep left. Mauer moved up on that play and advanced to third on a single by Danny Valencia before Tosoni — who had two hits but is headed to Triple-A — drove him in with a single past a diving shortstop Alexei Ramirez, knocking Peavy out of the game.Will Ohman came in and the lead hit 5-0 on an odd inning-ending double play, when Valencia scored on Nishioka’s grounder to second and Tosoni got caught off the base.It was another rough outing for Peavy, whose ERA is now at 5.27 after he allowed five runs and 10 hits. He walked two and struck out two, giving him 1,501 in his career. He hasn’t performed the way he anticipated after undergoing surgery to repair a torn latissimus dorsi muscle under his right shoulder last summer and plans to see his physical therapist in Alabama during the break.The Twins, meanwhile, couldn’t have asked for more from Swarzak, who was making his fourth start of the season. He allowed a leadoff single to Juan Pierre in the first and didn’t allow another hit until Alex Rios singled with one out in the fifth.The White Sox finally scored with two out in the sixth when Paul Konerko singled in Pierre, and got two more in the seventh when AJ Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham drove RBI doubles after Rios led off with a walk against Alex Burnett.After Mark Teahen struck out, Glen Perkins came in and retired Pierre and Ramirez before working a scoreless eighth. Matt Capps then worked the ninth for his 15th save in 21 chances. Swarzak, however, stole the spotlight before tiring in the sixth.

NOTES—Gardenhire said after the game that the Twins are activating OF Delmon Young (ankle) from the 15-day disabled list, recalling infielder Trevor Plouffe from Triple-A Rochester and sending C Rene Rivera and OF Tosoni to the minor-league club….Jim Thome was out of the lineup because of a sprained left big toe after striking out in all four at-bats on Saturday….The White Sox placed C Ramon Castro on the 15-day disabled list because of a broken right hand and index finger and recalled catcher Tyler Flowers from Triple-A Charlotte before the game….John Danks, out with a strained right oblique muscle, threw three innings Sunday in a rehab start for Triple-A Charlotte and gave up two runs on a pair of homers. Cooper said he’ll make another rehab start before rejoining the rotation

GWINNETT—The Rush won for the first time in franchise history in the state of Georgia, and did so in record breaking fashion.The Rush (12-4) forced six first half turnovers to jump out to a 38-14 lead over Georgia, and held on to defeat the Force 51-41 in a game was was not nearly that close Saturday at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. The 12th ties the most for the Rush in a season. The 2008 Rush team finished the regular year 12-4 in a 16-game season.It was the first Rush road win against the Force all time, and the first time the Rush defeated Georgia overall since 2002. The Rush’s only other win over the Force came on May 18, 2002 at Allstate Arena. Since then, the Rush lost in 2006 and 2008 in Georgia.The Rush recorded six interceptions in the game, the most in a single game in Chicago history. The seven turnovers ties the most in team history. They reached that spot earlier this season against the Philadelphia Soul on March 18. In the team’s 62-28 win over the Soul, the Rush tallied four interceptions and three fumbles.Six of the turnovers came in the first half, and the Rush led 38-14 at halftime.Rush Jack Linebacker Kelvin Morris got things started and accounted for the first two takeaways on Georgia’s first two drives. He got an interception and recovered a fumble which he returned 12 yards for a touchdown. It made it 14-0. A one-yard scoring run by QB J.J. Raterink and 21-yard pass from Raterink to former Force WR Derek Lee made it 28-14 Rush.Midway through the second quarter, Morris got his second interception and second defensive score of the night, running back an interception 37 yards for at touchdown. With it, the Rush led 38-14. It was Morris’ ninth interception on the year and fourth defensive touchdown.Perry Kyles also had two interceptions. Justin Hannah and Kelvyn Hemphill had one each. It was Hemphill’s first interception as a professional.One minute into the fourth quarter, Reggie Gray put the Rush ahead 51-21 on a 24-yard touchdown reception from J.J. Raterink. Georgia scored the game’s final three touchdowns and 20 points, but could not get any closer than ten points.Raterink was 20-for-30 for 223 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Gray caught 11 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns.Georgia’s Brett Elliott entered the game with the AFL’s sixth best QB rating of 116.7, with 88 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He threw five picks in the first half, and finished the night 10-for-20 for 129 yards. Darnell Kennedy relieved Elliott and started the second half.The Rush will travel to Dallas next week to battle the Dallas Vigilantes in hopes of securing one of the top seeds in the National Conference playoff picture. Kickoff is slated for Saturday, July 16th at 7:30 p.m. CST.

PITTSBURGH—-In this trying season for the Cubs, even when they win a game, they’re still making news for the wrong seasons.Ryan Dempster won for the first time in five starts despite arguing with manager Mike Quade after he was lifted after five innings, and the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Saturday night.Dempster (6-6) was pitching on nine days’ rest after being scratched from his scheduled start Monday because of back pain. He was cleared to start Saturday after making it through a pregame workout Friday without incident.He allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings and was seen throwing equipment and arguing vehemently with Quade when he was pinch-hit for to lead off the sixth.

“He wants to keep pitching, but I have to take into account what I saw and what I’ve got available and where we’re at,” Quade said. “Whether it’s his physical condition and everything else. He’s interested in winning games for the team, and that’s what I want.I’m thinking about a million things, including how he’s going to recover from this and everything else.”

Quade, Dempster and the rest of the Cubs played coy about the incident after the game, the Cubs second win in three days.

“I was just mad that with my sore back, I didn’t get a tee time at Oakmont [Country Club] while I was here, and it probably just came out after the fifth inning there,” Dempster quipped.”We won the game, and that’s all that matters,” Dempster added. “So I think anyone who’s competitive, you always want to be out there. But at the end of the day, getting W’s is all that matters.”

Dempster said he was most upset about the fact that the already-depleted bullpen was to be taxed further because of the fact he didn’t go deeper into the game.Blowups from Cubs starting pitchers have become commonplace in recent years — but most of the time, it’s volatile Carlos Zambrano throwing the tantrum.Jeff Samardzija, Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol combined to throw four scoreless innings to close out the Cubs’ victory, their second in their past eight at PNC Park. A night after blowing his sixth save, Marmol pitched the ninth for his 19th save of the season.Starlin Castro went 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI for the Cubs.Matt Diaz entered the game in the fourth and had two doubles and two RBIs for Pittsburgh, which came in with a chance to climb into first place.Pittsburgh, which had won four of its previous five, needed a win and a loss by the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday to move into a tie for the National League Central lead. It’s only early July, but for a team that has suffered through 18 consecutive losing seasons and lost 105 games last year, that would have been heady stuff.The Pirates are starting to make inroads in a sports market that usually only turns its attention to them when the Steelers and Penguins are out of season or not making news. The crowd of 39,235 Saturday — buoyed by a popular postgame concert and fireworks and laser show — was the 10th sellout of the season at PNC Park, the most since the ballpark’s inaugural season in 2001.But starter Kevin Correia didn’t give Pittsburgh much of a chance on a night he could have tied Atlanta’s Jair Jurrjens and the Yankees’ CC Sabathia for the majors’ lead in victories with 12.Correia (11-7) labored through his shortest start of the season. He allowed five runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.The Cubs during each of the four innings Correia pitched. The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Marlon Byrd and a wild pitch by Correia that scored Castro. Kosuke Fukudome, Alfonso Soriano and Castro had RBI singles the following three innings.Fukudome had two hits and two runs, Pena had two hits, a run and an RBI and Darwin Barney went 2 for 4 with two runs for the Cubs.Pirates rookies Alex Presley and Michael McKenry each had two hits and scored a run.Presley scored on Neil Walker’s groundout in the bottom of the third, and Diaz hit a ground-rule double down the right-field line that scored Garrett Jones and McKenry in the fourth.

NOTES—Before the game, Quade said the Cubs will open the second half of the season’s first three games with a rotation of RHP Matt Garza, Dempster and Zambrano. … During the fourth inning, the Pirates announced on the jumbotron that OF Andrew McCutchen was named to the NL All-star team, drawing an ovation and a curtain call. McCutchen will replace injured Brewers OF Ryan Braun.

For the White Sox, two-out hits had been as elusive as victories over the Minnesota Twins.On Saturday the White Sox were able to get both.They tied the game in the eighth on a two-out single by Carlos Quentin and then won the game in the bottom of the ninth on another clutch two-out hit by Alexei Ramirez to finally beat the Twins 4-3.It was their first win over the Twins in seven meetings this season and ended a nine-game losing streak to Minnesota stretching back to last season.The Sox win was just their seventh in the last 35 games against the Twins.Pierzynski, who entered the game when Ramon Castro suffered a broken right hand on passed ball in the eighth inning, doubled off Jose Mijares (0-1) to start the ninth. After two fly outs, Juan Pierre walked and Alex Burnett relieved before Ramirez lined a single to center.The loss of Castro put a bit of a damper on the victory celebration. He was hurt while Alexi Casilla was batting in the eighth.Jesse Crain (5-2) got three outs for the win.Twins starter Brian Duensing allowed five hits and a pair of runs over seven innings in a duel with Mark Buehrle.Buehrle, who entered the game with a 25-19 career record against the Twins, his most wins against any team, allowed four hits and three unearned runs in eight innings with eight strikeouts.Duensing called the matchup a learning experience, especially with how quickly Buehrle likes to work.Jason Repko led off the eighth with an infield single to short, reaching first with a head first slide. A sacrifice moved him to second, he reached third on Castro’s passed ball and scored on Casilla’s fly to center for a 3-2 lead.Twins reliever Glen Perkins hit Pierre to start the eighth and after a sacrifice, Paul Konerko was walked intentionally. Adam Dunn flied out with Pierre advancing to third. Joe Nathan was summoned and Quentin lined a single to left to tie the game. And in the top of the ninth, the White Sox right fielder made a nice running catch at the fence on a drive by Michael Cuddyer.Ramirez hit his ninth homer to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the first. But the Twins got two in the third as Luke Hughes reached on an error by third baseman Brent Morel and Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a bunt single. After a sacrifice, Hughes scored on an infield out by Ben Revere before Casilla hit an RBI single.

NOTES—Twins RHP Kevin Slowey, on the disabled list with an abdominal strain, will make a rehab start Sunday in Triple-A. Outfielder Delmon Young [ankle] is expected to rejoin the team after two rehab games this weekend. And RHP Scott Baker [elbow] will meet with doctors Tuesday to see if he will be cleared to pitch…..Revere made a nice diving catch of Quentin’s sinking liner in the seventh…..Former Sox and now Twins DH Jim Thome struck out four straight times.

Even when they give up five runs in the first inning, the Minnesota Twins find a way to beat the White Sox. They continued to dominate their AL Central foe Friday night, rallying for an 8-5 victory as Luke Hughes hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fourth inning. The Twins are 6-0 against the White Sox this season, have won nine straight in the series going back to last year and are 28-6 in the past 34 games between the two AL Central foes.The White Sox scored five runs in the first, but starter Gavin Floyd couldn’t hold the 5-1 lead and was driven out after 3 2/3 innings when Rene Tosoni hit a bases-loaded single to tie it.Hughes greeted reliever Will Ohman with a long three-run homer to left, his third homer of the season, to put the Twins up 8-5. After starter Nick Blackburn gave up five in the first, he and four relievers shut out the White Sox the rest of the way.The Twins, with five key players on the disabled list, are counting on players such as Tosoni and Hughes.Floyd (6-9), winless in six starts since June 1, gave up nine hits and was charged with seven runs.Blackburn (7-6) survived the five-run outburst. He gave up 10 hits, including Adam Dunn’s two-run homer in the first.Blackburn had also struggled mightily in his previous two starts, allowing 19 hits and 13 earned runs over 8 1/3 innings, but on Friday night Minnesota’s offense helped him overcome the rough start.Matt Capps pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 20 chances.Dunn, in a 4-for-52 tailspin with 29 strikeouts over his previous 15 games, drove a 3-2 pitch from Blackburn 412 feet into the right field bleachers to give the White Sox a 3-1 lead. Alexei Ramirez had singled with one out and scored on Paul Konerko’s double.After Dunn’s blast, his ninth homer of the season, Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios followed with back-to-back doubles to push the lead to three runs. Gordon Beckham’s RBI single completed the early outburst.It didn’t take long for the Twins to get to Floyd.Joe Mauer, back behind the plate after playing first base for the first time in the majors Thursday night, doubled off the right-center field fence with two outs in the first and scored on Michael Cuddyer’s RBI single.Minnesota loaded the bases in the third as Floyd hit Cuddyer with a pitch following a bunt single by Alexi Casilla and opposite-field single by Mauer. Danny Valencia hit a sacrifice fly, and one out later, Hughes walked to reload the bases. White Sox third baseman Brent Morel then made a nice play on a hard shot off the bat of Tsuyoshi Nishioka and threw him out to end the inning.Floyd hit Mauer to load the bases again in the fourth after singles by Matt Tolbert and Casilla. Cuddyer then delivered another RBI single, and one out later, Tosoni lined his two-run single to right to tie the game.Cuddyer has an eight-game hitting streak. … CF Denard Span [concussion], one of five Twins on the DL, ran the bases Friday and had no problems. The Twins hope to send him on a rehab assignment after the All-Star break. …. Minnesota DH Jim Thome got the night off to rest a sore toe but will be back in the lineup Saturday. .. The White Sox have lost four straight overall and are tied with the Twins in the loss column [47]. Floyd is 4-10 in his career against the Twins, including 0-7 in his past seven starts. … The Cubs five first-inning runs matched the White Sox’s total output against the Twins in their first five games this season.

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Pirates are still providing plenty of surprises in their successful first half of the season. Michael McKenry’s first major league home run, a three-run shot in the eighth inning, rallied Pittsburgh to a 7-4 victory over the Cubs on Friday night and assured the surprising Pirates of a winning record at the All-Star break for the first time in 19 years. The Pirates were 49-39 at the break in 1992 on their way to a third consecutive NL East title. They have had 18 consecutive losing seasons since, a record for major North American professional sports. “I’ve learned from experience that you don’t put expectations on people,” Hurdle said. “You draw up a plan and follow that plan. I don’t know what’s going to happen from here on in. I’m not an expert. My job is just to get ready to play. Where that’s going to take us, I don’t know.Where it has taken the Pirates so far is contention in the NL Central. They are in a second-place tie with the St. Louis Cardinals, one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates have 10 players on the disabled list and started four rookies on Friday. Yet they won for the fifth time in six games thanks to McKenry, who is hitting .242 in 20 games. McKenry was the backup catcher with the Boston Red Sox’s Triple-A Pawtucket club when the Pirates acquired him in a trade last month. Yet he has settled in nicely as the starting catcher with Chris Snyder and Ryan Doumit on the DL. “The thing about Mike is he comes to play,” Hurdle said. “On the home run, he kept taking good pass after good pass after good pass. You go the feeling he was going to square a pitch up eventually.” McKenry tried to downplay the biggest moment of his young career. “I don’t know about being the hero,” he said. “There were eight other innings where guys just battled their brains out.” The Pirates stayed hot before yet another large crowd as they continue to win back old fans and make new ones in a city that has waited a generation for a competitive baseball team. Attendance was 37,140, the Pirates’ ninth sellout of the season and fifth in their past seven dates at PNC Park. “Anytime you have sellout crowds, it’s usually an electric atmosphere,” Hurdle said. “And the atmosphere has truly been electric in this ballpark. It’s been great to see and be a part of it.” McHenry’s drive deep into the left-field bleachers came one batter after Carlos Marmol suffered his sixth blown save in 24 opportunities when he relieved Sean Marshall (5-3) and allowed Josh Harrison’s game-tying single on the rookie third baseman’s 24th birthday. “It’s a great birthday present,” Harrison said with a smile. Marmol wasn’t celebrating, though. “Today, I was throwing the ball right down the middle,” he said. “That’s what happens when I get hit. You’re not going to be sharp every time you go out there. No excuses. I gave up two base hits and that’s the ballgame.” Daniel McCutchen (3-1) got the final out of the eighth inning for the win and Joel Hanrahan got his 26th save. Harrison had three of the Pirates’ 12 hits, Andrew McCutchen homered, Neil Walker hit a two-run single and rookie left fielder Alex Presley and Lyle Overbay added two hits each. Aramis Ramirez hit his 10th home run in his past 16 games. Marlon Byrd had three hits, Alfonso Soriano doubled twice and drove in two runs and Ramirez and Darwin Barney added two hits apiece. Barney put the Cubs ahead 4-3 with an RBI single in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth, pinch hitter Matt Diaz worked a leadoff walk off Marshall and pinch runner Pedro Ciraco then slid hard into shortstop Starlin Castro to break up a potential inning-ending double play grounder by Walker. Overbay singled to put runners on first and second and Cubs manager Mike Quade called on Marmol. Harrison hit a first-pitch single into center field to tie the game then McKenry hit his game-winning homer. The Cubs’ Rodrigo Lopez allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings while walking one and striking out three. Pittsburgh’s James McDonald lasted 5 2/3 innings and gave up three runs and five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. McCutchen homered to center field, his 13th, to lead off the bottom of the sixth and tie the game at 3-3. The Cubs had pulled ahead 3-2 in the top of the inning on Soriano’s two-run double. The Cubs opened the scoring in the first inning on Ramirez’s home run to right field, his 15th. Pittsburgh answered with two runs in the third to take the lead as Walker’s two-out infield single scored a pair of runs. Presley scored from third and Chase d’Arnaud came around from second when second baseman Barney’s off-balance throw pulled first baseman Carlos Pena off the bag. NOTES—Ryan Dempster will start Saturday night for the Cubs after getting through a pre-game workout without incident. Dempster was scratched from his start Monday night at Washington because of back pain. Marcos Mateo underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed a forearm strain and he is expected to miss at least four weeks. He was placed on the DL on Tuesday. •Hurdle said he had a 15-minute phone call with San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy on Friday to clear the air about Andrew McCutchen being left off the NL All-Star team. Hurdle had been quite vocal about McCutchen’s exclusion from the squad that will be managed by Bochy in the All-Star game on Tuesday night at Phoenix. •Chicago released Triple-A Iowa OF Fernando Perez, who was on its 40-man roster, after he hit .238 with three home runs, 20 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 76 games

WASHINGTON—Davey Johnson sported a bloody mark on the left side of his forehead, the result of hitting his head on a shelf when he was about to get in his car in the morning to escape a houseful of company. The impact must have rattled him quite a bit. By the end of the day, the Washington Nationals manager who usually disdains small-ball called for a suicide squeeze. Not once, but twice. Two pitches apart. With the same batter at the plate.Wilson Ramos missed the sign the first time and swung away, fouling the ball off as Michael Morse covered his head while charging in from third. Ramos got the message the second time, bunting home Morse for the decisive run in the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s 5-4 win over the Cubs. The squeeze off Kerry Wood (1-4) decided a game of two-run homers. Danny Espinosa and Ryan Zimmerman each had one for the Nationals, and Carlos Pena and Aramis Ramirez did the same for the Cubs.The Nationals continue to take all their victories down to the wire. Each of their last 10 wins has been by either one run or in extra innings, and they are 13-3 in one-run games since June 1. Ryan Mattheus (2-0) pitched one inning to get his second major-league win — and second in five days. Henry Rodriguez and Drew Storen (22nd save) completed another shutout effort from the bullpen.Washington has won three straight and will go for the sweep on Thursday. The club improved to 5-5 under Johnson, who nevertheless remains perplexed by his team’s stinginess with clutch hits. Washington stranded runners in scoring position in each of the first six innings and finished 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position. It’s his team’s inability to produce the big inning that had him signaling for the squeeze, even though he couldn’t recollect ever calling for one in his 15 seasons as a big league manager. Everyone was surprised by what he pulled out, especially the Cubs. Zimmerman, showing signs of breaking out of a post-injury slump, had two doubles along with his fourth homer, giving him his first three-hit game of the year. He has five hits in his last two games and is now batting .218 since returning from abdominal surgery on June 14.Struggling Nationals slugger Jayson Werth, who is quickly becoming a sideshow all to himself, was moved down to No. 6 in the lineup for the first time this season and had another rough night. He went 0 for 4 to lower his batting average to .218 and heard a hearty round of boos after his popout to shortstop with men and second and third with none out in the fifth.Werth heard more jeers after misplaying Starlin Castro’s double to right to lead off the sixth. The miscue proved costly when the next batter, Ramirez, hit one out to straightaway center to tie at 4. As the ball sailed over the fence, Werth leaned forward dejectedly with hands on knees, remaining that way until the next hitter was announced.Werth did get a decent hand when he flew out in the seventh, driving the ball deep enough for Morse to advance from second to third to set up the squeeze.

NOTES—Espinosa’s home run was his 16th, the most among second baseman in the majors as well as the most among all rookies. … Nationals RHP Cole Kimball, on the 15-day disabled list, will be in New York on Friday to see another doctor about the inflammation in his throwing shoulder. … The Cubs will decide Thursday whether RHP Ryan Dempster can make his scheduled start on Saturday. Dempster was hospitalized over the weekend with back pain and missed his start Monday. … RHP Ramon Ortiz, who had a respectable outing in his Cubs debut Tuesday, will stay in the rotation for now and pitch again Sunday.

Bruce Chen pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Eric Hosmer hit a home run as the Kansas City Royals beat the White Sox 4-1 on Wednesday.Chen (5-2) allowed four hits and a run and departed after walking A.J. Pierzynski to start the bottom of the seventh. He retired the first nine batters before Juan Pierre singled leading off the bottom of the fourth and escaped a bases loaded, no-out jam in the sixth with just one run scoring.The lefty mixed speeds, delivery angles and kept the White Sox — who’ve struggled all season with offensive consistency — off balance. Greg Holland pitched two shutout innings and Joakim Soria the ninth for his 15th save in 20 chances.The Royals scored in the first off Edwin Jackson (5-7) as Chris Getz walked, stole second, held at third on Melky Cabrera’s single and scored when Alex Gordon grounded into a double play. Hosmer hit his eighth homer leading off the second on a ball that just went over the glove of Alex Rios at the wall.Jeff Francoeur delivered a two-out RBI single in the fourth after Gordon led off with a single and advanced on a grounder, making it 3-0. Francouer hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth after singles by Gordon and Hosmer and a Jackson wild pitch, extending the Royals’ lead to 4-0.Jackson allowed eight hits and the four runs in seven innings.After Pierre singled in the fourth and after Adam Dunn walked, he stole second. But Paul Konerko grounded into an inning-ending double play.The White Sox put together a rally in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs on singles by Rios and Gordon Beckham and a bunt single by Pierre on a close play a first. Dunn drew a one-out walk to force in a run. But Chen slipped a third strike past Konerko — who hopes to make the All-Star team via interactive voting — and got Carlos Quentin — already on the AL team — to pop out to end the threat.Chen finally got his first win against the White Sox in 11 career appearances. He is now 1-3 in those outings, including six starts.

NOTES—Ozzie Guillen was asked before the game why he was starting Dunn against the veteran lefty Chen. Dunn entered the game 2-for-56 against southpaws this season. “Have you see Bruce Chen pitch?” Guillen asked of his former teammate with the Atlanta Braves. “I might get an at-bat. And Bruce Chen is my boy. I knew him with Atlanta. I love this kid. …I hope we have a good chance with him. I think Bruce had troubles against lefties in the past because he takes the changeup away from them, but I think I’m going to give [Dunn] a shot to compete.” Lefties were batting 68 points higher this season against Chen than righties entering the game. … Chen threw 104 pitches, 66 of them for strikes. He walked three and struck out four.

Felipe Paulino struck out nine in six innings for his first victory in more than a year and the Kansas City Royals beat the White Sox 5-3 on Tuesday night.Alcides Escobar hit a two-run triple and Matt Treanor had a go-ahead, two-run single for the Royals, who won for the fifth time in 19 games.Paulino (1-2) was acquired from Colorado for cash on May 26 after starting the season 0-5. He allowed three runs and scattered nine hits while walking two on 120 pitches.It was Paulino’s first win since June 4, 2010, against the Cubs. He finished last season 1-9.For the second time in a week, the White Sox failed to break the .500 barrier. They have not been above .500 since April 15, when they were 7-6.