Ichiro collects league-leading 224th hit in loss

CHICAGO (AP) -- Felix Diaz did something that few pitchers have

been able to do lately. He found a way to shut down Ichiro Suzuki.

Backed by two-run homers from Joe Borchard and Paul Konerko,

Diaz (2-4) allowed one run and five hits -- none to Suzuki -- in six

innings to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory over the

Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

The right-hander, who entered with a 9.09 ERA, got Suzuki to

ground out three times as the White Sox won their third straight.

Suzuki got a single off reliever Jon Adkins in the seventh to go

1-for-4 and give him a major league-leading 224 hits, 33 short of

the all-time single-season record. He has 26 games remaining to

reach the record of 257 hits, set by George Sisler in 1920 with the

St. Louis Browns.

But by the time Suzuki reached base Sunday, Diaz had already set

the tone.

Making his seventh start, Diaz didn't allow a run until Edgar

Martinez doubled in Randy Winn with two outs in the sixth.

"My pitches were better and I was able to set them up better,"

Diaz said through a translator. "When I came up up (from Triple-A

Charlotte) I had confidence, but maybe then the batters had more

confidence."

Diaz's previous win was June 26 against the Cubs when he allowed

three runs in six innings He had been 0-3 with two no-decisions

since.

"He threw strikes and changes speeds real well," manager Ozzie

Guillen said.

Catcher Jamie Burke added: "The big thing was he was getting

ahead of hitters. He was strong with all his pitches on both sides

of the plate."

Diaz tried to keep his pitches inside against Suzuki. On Sunday,

it worked.

"He threw fastballs, changeups and sliders," Suzuki said

through a translator.

Jolbert Cabrera hit a solo homer in the ninth off Damaso Marte

for the Mariners, who lost their fifth straight. Marte got four

outs for his fifth save.

Seattle starter Jamie Moyer (6-10) allowed five runs in seven

innings in his eighth straight loss. He hasn't won since June 18 at

Pittsburgh, and has seven no-decisions during that span.

"It's mistakes that are getting taken advantage of," Moyers

said. "I made fewer of them today, but they were taken advantage

of."

Borchard gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead in the second with a

two-run homer that barely cleared the center-field wall. For

Borchard, a switch-hitter, it was his first homer this season from

the right side of the plate.

Konerko's two-run shot -- his 35th -- in the third extended

Chicago's lead to 4-0.

After Martinez's RBI double cut it to 4-1 in the sixth, the

White Sox replied in the bottom of the inning with Jamie Burke's

sacrifice fly.

Juan Uribe hit an RBI double in the eighth to make it 6-1.Game notes
The White Sox swept the Mariners at U.S. Cellular Field

this season 6-0. ... Konerko's homer was his third in two games. It

also was the White Sox's 200th homer, giving them 200 or more for

five straight years. The New York Yankees, who have a string of

five 200-plus homer seasons, are the only other team to accomplish

that. ... Despite Diaz's strong start Sunday, Guillen plans to move

him to the bullpen when right-hander Freddy Garcia returnes to

Chicago's rotation this week.