Ronnie Belliard and the Cleveland Indians simply refused to give in.

Belliard fouled off five consecutive pitches on a 1-2 count, then hit a three-run homer as the Indians overcame three deficits for a 12-8 victory over Chicago on Thursday night, their third straight victory over the White Sox.

“It just feels good,” Belliard said. “I wasn’t trying to hit the ball out of the park. He threw a changeup, and I hit it. The big thing is coming back to win this series over a very good team.”

Jermaine Dye homered twice and drove in five runs, while Jim Thome had three RBIs for Chicago, which led 5-2, trailed 7-5 and went ahead 8-7.

But the defending World Series champions couldn’t prevent the Indians from winning the final three games of the series after losing the opener 11-0. The White Sox lost for the fifth time in seven games and dropped 21â2 games behind AL Central leader Detroit.

“Just looking at the way we played, we’re lucky to be where we are,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We didn’t pitch well in this series. They swung the bats well, but as a team, we’re not throwing the ball the way we should. That’s why we lost the last three games.”

Ben Broussard had four of Cleveland’s 14 hits as the Indians improved to 6-3 against the White Sox this season after losing 15 of 19 to them last year.

Cleveland Indians' Ronnie Belliard, right, is congratulated by Ben Broussard, left, as Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, center, watches in the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 1, 2006, in Cleveland. Belliard hit a three-run homer off Sox pitcher Brandon McCarthy.

“This was an outstanding effort by everybody,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. “So many people stepped up, and I can’t say enough about the effort.

“Ronnie is one of the best in clutch situations and he kept battling.”

Athletics 4, Twins 0

Oakland, Calif. – Barry Zito allowed four hits over seven scoreless innings. Frank Thomas hit his 460th career homer in the second inning, while Mark Kotsay and Dan Johnson also connected in the A’s second straight victory after losing 10 of their previous 11 games.

Tigers 7, Yankees 6

Detroit – Carlos Guillen singled in the winning run to cap a two-run ninth-inning rally for Detroit off Kyle Farnsworth. Detroit trailed 6-5 going into the ninth, but rallied off former teammate Farnsworth (1-3).

Devil Rays 8, Orioles 6

Baltimore – Jonny Gomes homered, Carl Crawford tripled in two runs and scored twice, and Tampa Bay ended a six-game losing streak.