Alex Rios got the White Sox headed in the right direction on Friday night. Then he sent them home.
The White Sox right fielder delivered a game-winning two-run home run to lift the White Sox to an 8-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels in front of 32,060 at U.S. Cellular Field. Rios second homer of the game and 18 th this season was the White Sox first walkoff of the season.
Matt Thornton (4-6) earned the victory as the White Sox bullpen combined for 4 13 shutout innings.
Rios homered just over the leap of Angels center fielder Mike Trout with pinch-runner Jordan Danks aboard.
Fridays contest got out to a slow start when Angels manager Mike Scioscia protested a call in the first inning. Scioscia believed Paul Konerko ran inside the base line on a potential double play and argued the call for five minutes to no avail. Konkerko reached on a fielders choice on the play and reloaded the bases.
The White Sox took advantage of the delay against a cold Greinke to rally from a 1-0 deficit. Rios tied the game with an RBI single -- though Adam Dunn was thrown out at the plate on the play. A.J Pierzynski followed with a three-run homer -- his 19th -- to give the Sox a 4-1 lead.
White Sox starting pitcher Philip Humber didnt hang on to the lead for very long.
MLB
He walked Angels catcher with two outs in the second inning and Mike Trout followed with a two-run homer to make it 4-3. An inning later, Humber walked Kendry Morales and Alberto Callaspo with two outs and gave up RBI singles to Howie Kendrick and Maicer Izturis to give the Angels the lead.
All six runs given up by Humber -- who allowed 10 hits and four walks in 5 23 innings -- came with two outs. Albert Pujols homered with two outs in the sixth to put the Angels ahead 6-4.
Greinke also had trouble maintaining the lead.
The right-hander, whom the White Sox tried to acquire before the Milwaukee Brewers traded him to the Angels last Friday, settled down after he allowed two singles in the second inning. He retired 11 of 12 batters into the sixth inning until Rios hit a solo homer -- his 17th -- to cut the lead in half. Greinke then allowed the White Sox to tie the game in the seventh when Alejandro De Aza had an RBI ground-rule double to score Alexei Ramirez.