Jon Garland became the American League's first seven-game winner Thursday, allowing eight hits in eight innings as the Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 to run their record to 26-9.
"He's more mature and has more confidence in his pitches," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We've given him the opportunity to be who he is, he thought about it and he's performed."
Garland (7-0) won his seventh straight start and stopped an Orioles' eighth-inning rally by striking out Miguel Tejada with runners on the corners.
"It was one of the best pitches I threw all night. There are some RBIs out there for him and he wants to swing the bat and hit. He swung over the top of it." Garland said of the eighth-inning strikeout.
Dustin Hermanson pitched the ninth for his seventh save in as many opportunities. Hermanson has yet to allow a run this season, spanning 15 appearances.
A.J. Pierzynski and Juan Uribe homered for the White Sox, who led 3-0 after three innings. Rafael Palmeiro hit a solo homer for the Orioles in the fifth.
Pitting the teams with the best records in the majors, the opener of the four-game set drew 29,031 on a 53-degree night at US Cellular Field.
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