Following his team's 4-2 win over Cleveland on Wednesday, Ozzie Guillen leaned back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief. "We needed this one, man," he said. The Chicago White Sox manager wasn't kidding. The White Sox came into the game having lost five of six, and were tied with Minnesota atop the AL Central.

Victor Martinez hugged teammates and danced in the dugout as if he had just won the World Series. It was a special moment for Cleveland's switch-hitter, who hit his first home run in nearly a year to help the Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-3 on Tuesday night. "It felt great to see one finally go out," Martinez said.

Once inside the clubhouse, Cliff Lee's teammates popped open champagne and toasted his latest win, his biggest win. Exactly one year after being brought back from the minor leagues, Lee had something major to celebrate: He's Cleveland's first 20-game winner in 34 years. "Has a nice ring to it," Lee said.

No longer a pitching prodigy, K-Rod still is putting up prodigious numbers. With 53 saves in 58 chances this year, the Los Angeles Angels' Francisco Rodriguez needs only four saves to match the major league single-season record set by Bobby Thigpen with the Chicago White Sox in 1990. And Rodriguez still has a month to do it.

Jim Thome knew how much the Chicago White Sox needed a win. He helped them get one with a memorable homer. Thome hit a two-run shot in the first inning to match Mickey Mantle for 14th place with 536 career homers, and Chicago beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Sunday to end a three-game losing streak. "To tie Mickey Mantle, you're speechless.

Dustin Pedroia is playing so well even his manager is surprised by his success. Boston's sparkplug was called safe with a hustling double in the fifth inning Saturday night, eluding a tag with a headfirst slide. Then Terry Francona, thinking he was ruled out, came out of the Red Sox dugout to argue the call.

Dustin Pedroia had four hits, three runs, two stolen bases and one walk. Ho hum. It was just another multi-hit game for last year's AL rookie of the year, his league-leading 52nd of the season. Going 4-for-4, he raised his batting average to .388 in the last 15 games and .322 for the season. And he set a Red Sox single-season record for second basemen with 104 runs.

Brian Roberts was working in the indoor batting cage, fully expecting a day off, when manager Dave Trembley told the second baseman that idea had been canceled because Alex Cintron developed food poisoning. Roberts dutifully assumed his usual leadoff spot and had three RBIs to lead the Baltimore Orioles over the Chicago White Sox 11-3 on Wednesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak.

Rather than express disappointment over falling three outs short of a complete game, Gavin Floyd relished his 14th win. And why not? That's six more victories than the right-hander had over his entire career before finding success in his fifth season in the big leagues. Floyd pitched eight innings of four-hit ball, Nick Swisher homered, and the Chicago White Sox handed the Baltimore Orioles their...

Jim Thome climbed another notch on the career home run list -- and prevented the Chicago White Sox from dropping out of first place in the AL Central. Thome hit his 535th homer to gain sole possession of 15th place, and the White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Monday night after losing the completion of a game suspended by rain.