White Sox streak past Cardinals

ST. LOUIS -- Paul Konerko said the Chicago White Sox were looking to get back on track as quickly as possible Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals after Chicago dropped two of three to the Houston Astros.

Konerko had three hits to lift his major-league best average to .373, and teammates A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Dunn homered to lead the White Sox to a 6-1 win.

Konerko said it was a big win for his team.

"We've had already about six or seven of those moments where we're doing well and then we had a hiccup," Konerko said. "You just know you have to bounce back if you want to stay in it. That was tonight."

Chicago has won eight straight road games and is a major league-best 17-6 since May 17.

White Sox outfielder Adam Dunn watches his solo home run during the eighth inning Tuesday in St. Louis. (TOM GANNAM ~ Associated Press)

Rookie left-hander Jose Quintana (2-1) allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings to get the win, and Orlando Hudson hit a two-run triple for Chicago.

Quintana (2-1), who was making his fifth start, allowed a career-high 10 hits but did not issue a walk and was helped out by three double plays.

"That's actually what I was looking for," Quintana said through an interpreter. "The double plays were going to get me out of the inning, and I was able to get them."

White Sox manager Robin Ventura said that Quintana, who is filling in for the injured John Danks, has earned at least one more start.

"He's getting it again," Ventura said. "He's proven he can pitch up here. When he goes out there and does what he's doing right now, he's making a strong case for staying around."

The Cardinals are moving in the opposite direction. They have dropped three of their past four to fall back to .500 (31-31).

"We're going through a spot right now, and you could see the contrast," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "You could see one team with a lot of confidence and one team on the other side with not so much. We've got to figure out how to get it back."

Matt Holliday went 2 for 4 with a run scored for St. Louis. Allen Craig drove in the Cardinals' run with an RBI single in the sixth.

St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright (5-7) went seven innings and allowed five hits. He gave up two runs while striking out seven and walking two.

"Adam definitely deserved better than the result," Matheny said. "He was very good tonight and could have left that game in the eighth without any runs pretty easy."

After going 0-3 in April, Wainwright is throwing like the pitcher who won a combined 39 games during the 2009 and 2010 seasons before missing last season following elbow surgery. He had won three of his previous four starts coming into Tuesday's game.

Wainwright said he feels as if he is where he should be at this point in his recovery.

"I feel very comfortable on the mound," Wainwright said. "I feel like my in between start routine is getting comfortable again, my arm slot is finding its groove again, I'm find the right tempo between pitches and during pitches. It's all kind of getting back into the swing of things."

Like most pitchers this season, Wainwright was unable to solve Konerko, who ignited the only rally off Wainwright with a leadoff single to start the second inning. He was erased by Alex Rios' fielder's choice, but Pierzynski kept the inning going with a single to center. Hudson then drove in Rios and Pierzynski with a two-out triple to right-center that glanced off right fielder Carlos Beltran's glove.

"I just didn't quite make the pitches I wanted to to Hudson, and I made a mistake to Konerko," Wainwright said. "Other than that, I was pretty sharp."

The White Sox scored four runs in the eighth off relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Mitchell Boggs. Rzepczynski gave up an RBI single to Gordon Beckham, who was thrown out trying to advance to second, and Dunn's 436-foot homer over the Cardinals' bullpen in right field to make it 4-1. Boggs relieved Rzepczynski and gave up a single to Konerko and a 408-foot line shot into the stands in right by Pierzynski.

Noteworthy

* The matchup of Matheny and Ventura marked the first meeting of rookie managers in a Cardinals game since interim manager Mike Jorgensen and first-year San Diego skipper Bruce Bochy squared off in 1995.

* Before his triple, Hudson was hitting just .182 (10 for 55) since joining the White Sox on May 22.

* Holliday returned to the lineup after sitting out two games with back spasms.

* The Cardinals' Rafael Furcal is hitless on the homestand (0 for 15).