McPherson's two-out, two-run homer lifts Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Another pitching duel ensued between the

Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels. Fittingly, one pitch

decided the game.

John Lackey threw seven sharp innings and Dallas McPherson hit a

go-ahead two-run homer to give the Angels a 3-2 victory Thursday

night.

"It was good to win, no matter how we did it or who did it,"

said McPherson, who started the season at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Lackey (5-2) gave up two runs and six hits, struck out five and

walked two as the teams split the four-game series that was

dominated by solid pitching on both sides.

"Both clubs pitched outstanding baseball and had timely

defense," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "It was a good

series if you're a baseball purist."

Scot Shields got the final four outs for his sixth save in seven

chances.

The Angels, who have been limited to three runs or fewer in 13

of 23 games this month, canceled batting practice -- except for a

few players who sharpened their swings in the indoor batting cage.

One of those players was McPherson, who homered to center field

on his first pitch from Jose Contreras (2-2) with two outs in the

seventh. Garret Anderson scored after hitting a leadoff single and

advancing to second on a sacrifice by Jeff DaVanon.

"I've been trying to get back to basics and see if it works,"

said McPherson, who had his first major league triple Wednesday

night. "I haven't been getting the results, but I've been making

adjustments. Hitting is contagious. Hopefully, this gets us back on

a winning streak."

The Angels' other run came in the first on a RBI groundout by

Darin Erstad after Chone Figgins hit a leadoff triple.

Contreras allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings,

struck out a season-high nine and walked one.

"This kid deserved better," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen

said. "It seems like the pitchers can't make a mistake because we

haven't been giving them run support lately."

Carl Everett's struggles reflected what the rest of the White

Sox went through. He was 1-for-15 in the series, with his only hit

being a homer that helped Chicago win 2-1 Tuesday.

"Our pitching has been carrying us and our pitchers should be

tired of carrying us," he said. "They've been giving us their max

effort the whole time. They've been doing great and we've just been

mediocre."

After giving up a run in the first, Contreras didn't allow

another hit until Orlando Cabrera's two-out double in the fifth.

"McPherson was waiting for that pitch because that's the pitch

I wanted to throw him -- a four-seam fastball," Contreras said

through a translator. "I hit the location I wanted to hit and he

was sitting on that. You can lose a game with one pitch. It hurts

me to lose because we were so close, but it hurts me more because

the team played a great game."

Chicago tied the game at 1 in the fourth on Tadahito Iguchi's

RBI single. Lackey threw a wild pitch and loaded the bases before

escaping.

"A couple well-placed balls just found the spaces to drop a

couple in," he said. "Contreras threw a heck of a game and kept

us off-balance."

The White Sox led 2-1 in the seventh on Pablo Ozuna's

opposite-field RBI single.

The Angels won the series opener Monday behind 22-year-old Ervin

Santana's five-hit shutout, snapping Jon Garland's 10-game winning

streak. Chicago won 2-1 in 11 innings Tuesday and Freddy Garcia won

4-2 Wednesday.Game notes
Figgins' nine-game hitting streak is the longest by an

Angel this season. ... Shields has allowed one earned run in his

last 19 outings and lowered his ERA to 0.96 this season. ... The

White Sox haven't won a series at Angel Stadium since Aug. 5-7,

1994. They are 15-39 in Anaheim since then. ... McPherson had his

first RBI in 15 games.