Chicago — Randy Johnson sat by his locker and shook his head as he searched for reasons, an effort that was futile.
A dazed and frustrated Johnson allowed home runs to three consecutive batters for the first time in his major-league career and four in all during the fourth inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees, 6-2, Sunday to stop a seven-game losing streak.
"I felt great," said Johnson, who allowed the homers in a 16-pitch span. "The velocity was there."
But afterward, he felt miserable.
Given a 1-0 lead, Johnson allowed consecutive solo homers to Tadahito Iguchi, Aaron Rowand and Paul Konerko with one out in the fourth and, after singles by Jermaine Dye and Juan Uribe, a three-run shot to Chris Widger.
Johnson (11-8) has allowed 29 homers, the most in the American League and second in the major leagues behind Cincinnati's Eric Milton (35). The most Johnson has allowed in a season was 30 with Arizona in 1999.
The Big Unit, who missed a start earlier this month because of a bad back, allowed 10 hits, struck out eight and walked none in his fourth complete game this season. His earned-run average rose to 4.34, but both Johnson and manager Joe Torre said he pitched well.
"His stuff was good," Torre said. "He's going to win games pitching like that."
Chicago tied a franchise record by hitting four homers in an inning for the third time, the first since May 3, 2000, against Toronto.
Chicago's Tadahito Iguchi connects on a solo home run against New York Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson. The White Sox won, 6-2, Sunday in Chicago.
"The energy was good today early," Konerko said. "I knew we'd be in the game. I hope guys realize that we can't wait for good things to happen and then have energy. You've got to come with it first, and then good things follow."
Former Yankee Jose Contreras (8-7) allowed two runs - one earned- and 11 hits, and matched his career-high by pitching eight innings. He struck out five and walked none.
"We got 11 hits off of him, so we had some opportunities," Torre said. "It looked like the right-handers were having better swings than the left-handers. We really never had him on the ropes. He had a great splitter, and it looked like that was what was getting the left-handed hitters. They just couldn't identify it, and he was getting a lot of swings and misses."
It was the seventh time in franchise history the White Sox hit three consecutive homers. Johnson was the first Yankees pitcher to give up three straight since Bill Fulton in the eighth inning against Minnesota on Sept. 12, 1987.
Twins 8, Mariners 3
Minneapolis - Lew Ford homered for the third straight game, hitting a three-run drive for Minnesota. Matthew LeCroy drove in two runs with two hits, Joe Mauer reached base five times, and Shannon Stewart had three hits for Minnesota, which won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Twins starter Brad Radke (8-10), enjoying plenty of run support in August, surrendered only four hits in seven solid innings.
Red Sox 5, Angels 1
Anaheim, Calif. - Edgar Renteria hit a three-run homer, and Manny Ramirez added a two-run shot as Boston did all its scoring in the eighth inning and beat Los Angeles for a four-game split of a series between division leaders.
Mike Timlin (5-2) pitched two hitless innings for the victory, which extended Boston's AL East lead over the New York Yankees to four games. Curt Schilling allowed three hits in the ninth inning against the AL West leaders, including Steve Finley's RBI double.
Paul Byrd (9-8) remained winless in six starts.
Indians 5, Orioles 1
Cleveland - Travis Hafner drove in four runs to help C.C. Sabathia win his fourth straight start, and Cleveland completed a three-game sweep. Sabathia (10-9) improved to 4-0 in August after losing his last five starts in July. The left-hander gave up one run and three hits in eight innings.
Devil Rays 6, Rangers 3
St. Petersburg, Fla. - Kenny Rogers lost his third straight start since serving a 13-game suspension, and Jonny Gomes homered and drove in two runs as Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep.
Rogers (11-7) gave up six runs and seven hits in six innings. He has allowed 17 runs and 20 hits in 18 innings over his past three outings since returning from his penalty for shoving two cameramen.
Casey Fossum (7-10) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings. Tampa Bay has won five straight and is 23-12 since the All-Star break.
Tigers 17, Blue Jays 6
Detroit - Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer in a seven-run first inning that started the Tigers to their highest-scoring game in more than a year.
Craig Monroe hit a two-run homer in the second, and Curtis Granderson had a three-run shot in the sixth.
It was the most runs for the Tigers since a 17-3 victory over Cleveland on April 23, 2004.
Dustin McGowan (1-1) allowed 12 runs - 10 earned - nine hits, three hit batters and two walked in 41â3 innings. His ERA rose from 5.95 to 8.63.
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