Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen didn’t know anything about Carlos Quentin when the White Sox traded for him in the offseason.
Guillen certainly knows all about his outfielder now.
Quentin led off the bottom of the ninth with his second homer off John Lackey, and the White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 to avoid a three-game sweep on Sunday night.
“This kid, the way I look at it, he proved me wrong,” Guillen said. “I didn’t even know who he was when we traded for him, but (general manager Kenny Williams) told me if this kid’s healthy, he’s going to help you win games.”
The multihomer game was Quentin’s second this season and the third in his career. His 14 homers lead the American League, he had three of the White Sox’s six hits and he’s batting .301 after being limited by injuries last year with Arizona.
Quentin is already making quite a name for himself around the league.
“I’d never even heard of him,” Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said. “He’s definitely doing what he’s capable of doing. He’s got tremendous pop. We call it crazy pop. That’s what he has.”
In other AL games, it was: Oakland 6, Boston 3; Texas 2, Cleveland 1; New York 6, Seattle 5; Toronto 3, Kansas City 1; Minnesota 6, Detroit 1; and Tampa Bay 5, Baltimore 4.
Quentin hasn’t let his early success get to him. He was more excited to talk about Jose Contreras’ strong outing.
“That’s the story of the night,” Quentin said.
Contreras continued to pitch the way he did in 2006 when he made the All-Star team. He allowed just two runs and three hits, including a two-run homer by Gary Matthews Jr., while striking out 10 and walking none. It was his fourth double-digit strikeout game and his first since June 17, 2006, when he had 13 in six innings against Cincinnati on June 17, 2006.
The homer made a winner of Scott Linebrink (2-0), who pitched a perfect ninth after Contreras threw eight strong innings.
Athletics 6, Red Sox 3
At Oakland, Calif., Jon Lester’s hopes for another no-hitter ended with the first batter he faced, and the day never got better for the Boston Red Sox.
Jack Hannahan hit that leadoff single and later drove in two runs, and Jack Cust hit a two-run homer as the Oakland Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champions.
Lester (3-3) allowed seven hits and four runs over five innings, taking the loss in his first start since throwing a no-hitter Monday night against Kansas City.
Joe Blanton (3-6) labored through six inconsistent innings to win for the first time in five May starts, allowing five hits and four walks while striking out seven.
Rangers 2, Indians 1
At Cleveland, Right fielder Ben Francisco misplayed a simple single into a costly error in the 10th, enabling Jarrod Saltalamacchia to score from first base with the winning run.
Saltalamacchia drew a two-out walk on the 10th pitch he saw from Masahide Kobayashi (2-2).
Ramon Vazquez, who struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, then lined a routine single to right. Francisco knelt down to play it safely, but the ball bounced between his legs and rolled to the wall. Saltalamacchia scored easily and Vazquez reached third on the error.
Jamey Wright (3-1) worked two scoreless innings and C.J. Wilson earned his 10th save.
The Indians also lost starter Fausto Carmona. He is expected to be sidelined four weeks with a strained left hip.
An MRI revealed a moderate strain of an exterior muscle in Carmona’s left hip.
Yankees 6, Mariners 5
At New York, Jose Molina hit a two-out RBI double to cap a four-run eighth inning, and the Yankees rallied for their fifth straight victory.
The Yankees won consecutive series for the first time this season, while the Mariners have lost a season-worst six games in a row. Seattle owns the worst record in the AL at 18-33.
New York was down 5-2 coming into the eighth and had been 0-23 when trailing after seven innings. Derek Jeter led off with a walk against reliever Sean Green before Arthur Rhodes came in for the lefty-on-lefty matchup against Bobby Abreu, who doubled to drive in Jeter.
In came closer J.J. Putz (1-2) to try to get the six-out save. Instead, he got the loss.
Edwar Ramirez (1-0) pitched 1 2-3 scoreless inning to get the win. Mariano Rivera picked up his 12th save.
Blue Jays 3, Royals 1
At Toronto, Shannon Stewart drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice, Dustin McGowan won for the first time in four starts and the Royals have now lost seven straight.
McGowan (3-4) allowed one run and nine hits in seven innings to win for the first time since May 5 against Cleveland. He matched a season-high by striking out seven and walked none. B.J. Ryan pitched the ninth for his 11th save.
Royals right-hander Gil Meche (3-7) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. Twins 6, Tigers 1
At Detroit, Jason Kubel hit a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning and Glen Perkins shut down Detroit’s offense to take two of three in the series.
Carlos Guillen homered and finished with three hits for Detroit, which wasted a strong start by Justin Verlander after blowing out Minnesota, 19-3 on Saturday night.
Perkins (2-1) allowed a run and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings, walking two and striking out four.
Francisco Cruceta (0-2) relieved Verlander in the eighth and took the loss.
Rays 5, Orioles 4
At St. Petersburg, Fla., Evan Longoria drove in the winning run with a double in the ninth inning, giving the Rays a three-game sweep of the Orioles.
Carlos Pena drew a one-out walk in the ninth off George Sherrill (1-1) and scored on Longoria’s double to center.
Troy Percival (1-0) got two outs in the ninth for the win.
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