Wilson Pitches Rangers Past White Sox

C.J. Wilson survived a harrowing drive home through rain, lightning, hail and tornado warnings.

Less than 12 hours later, he kept his nerve and turned in a sharp pitching performance for the Texas Rangers.

Wilson lasted into the seventh inning, Ian Kinsler's RBI single produced the eventual winning run, and the Rangers hung on to beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Wednesday.

Wilson (5-3) gave up one run and five hits in 6 1-3 innings to help the Rangers win for the third time in four games. The left-hander struck out five.

Late Tuesday night, Wilson left Rangers Ballpark early to get some rest before his start. The drive to his home in Dallas was hair-raising to say the least.

"I drove through some sort of a cyclone at 11 o'clock," Wilson said. "It was the most exciting driving experience I've had on the streets. I was in my truck, going sideways and stuff."

Both teams had reasons to be tired. The White Sox had earned an 8-6 victory in a game that started early Tuesday night and ended at 1:27 Wednesday morning following a rain delay of almost three hours.

The Rangers managed to do just enough to beat White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who allowed just three hits.

"We've dealt with a lot worse," Kinsler said. "Go home, get your sleep, and get ready for the game. There's nothing special to it. It doesn't wear you out that bad. If anything, playing a day game in the sun wears you out a little bit, but as far as last night, it didn't have too much of an effect."

Stormy weather passed through the area, and Wednesday's game was played under sunny skies.

Neftali Feliz issued consecutive one-out walks in the ninth, but got A.J. Pierzynski to fly out with runners on first and third for his 10th save in 12 chances as Texas took the deciding game of the three-game series.

"Anytime you're hanging on to a one-run lead with runners on base, your heart beats faster," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "But bottom line, he got the three outs we needed."

Wilson gave up a single to Juan Pierre leading off the game, then recorded the next 16 outs before Gordon Beckham's one-out single in the sixth.

Brent Morel, the next batter, bounced into a double play.

Wilson carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh before the White Sox broke through.

Chicago put runners on first and third on one-out singles by Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin. Paul Konerko's RBI single ended the shutout bid, and ended Wilson's 103-pitch outing.

"In the seventh inning there, he just ran out of gas," Washington said.

Reliever Mark Lowe got Alex Rios to ground into an inning-ending double play.

The White Sox threatened again in the eighth with runners on first and third and one out. Lefty Darren Oliver came on to strike out pinch hitter Adam Dunn, and retire Pierre on a forceout.

In the third inning, David Murphy's leadoff grounder off Floyd (5-4) kicked off the glove of Beckham at second base for an error, and Murphy took third on Yorvit Torrealba's ground-rule double.

Murphy came home on Mitch Moreland's sacrifice fly, and Kinsler followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0.

Floyd allowed two runs with five strikeouts and one walk in seven-plus innings and 110 pitches.

Texas' three hits matched the fewest for the team in a victory in the 18-year history of Rangers Ballpark.

Chicago was 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, but Floyd didn't point any fingers at his misfiring offense.

"We're all fighting out there," Floyd said. "Their pitcher pitched real well. We had a couple of innings when we were grinding it out, trying to produce runs, but it just didn't happen today. Our offense is good enough to put up a lot of runs. I just want to keep the team in the game. To be able to achieve that against a lineup like this ... I'll take it out there again next time."

NOTES: Rangers CF Julio Borbon won't be cleared to test his tender hamstring until Friday at the earliest. Borbon, on the 15-day DL with left hamstring inflammation, has to run the bases and in the outfield before he can move on to a minor league rehab assignment. Borbon will need at least 20 minor league at-bats before he's ready to return to the majors. ... The White Sox have six starters for what's traditionally a five-man rotation, and that's the kind of math that can give a manager headaches. The six-man setup probably will be history when the 10-game road trip ends June 1. The Sox have two days off scheduled in the first two weeks in June. Manager Ozzie Guillen said he's not worried about hurting anyone's feelings when he has to inform one of his pitchers that he'll be moving to the bullpen. "It's not about one guy," Guillen said. "It's about the ballclub. I have a job to do, and that's to do what's best for the team." ... Guillen held Dunn out of the starting lineup despite Dunn's homer on Tuesday night. Prior to that, Dunn had been in a 3-for-33 slump. ... Pierre stretched his hitting streak to 10 games.