Buehrle tosses 8 scoreless to beat Jays Sun Jul 29, 3:59 AM ET

Buehrle tosses 8 scoreless to beat Jays Sun Jul 29, 3:59 AM ET



CHICAGO - Mark Buehrle pitched eight scoreless innings, Jerry Owens hit his first career home run and the Chicago White Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 Saturday night.

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The White Sox have won five of its last six games and the Blue Jays lost its second straight after winning a season-high five in a row.

Buehrle (8-6) scattered eight hits and struck out six with one walk. White Sox closer Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless ninth for his 30th save in 35 chances.

Danny Richar, who was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte before the game, led off the seventh inning with a single off Toronto starter Roy Halladay and on the next pitch, Owens hit a line drive over the fence in right to give the White Sox the lead.

The home run broke a streak of 21 scoreless innings for Halladay (11-5). He pitched his 28th complete game of his career and the fourth the season on 119 pitches. He allowed 10 hits in eight innings, with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Buehrle avenged a 2-0 loss to Halladay on May 31. That game lasted just 1 hour, 50 minutes. This one took 2 hours, 7 minutes.

Buehrle made a smart play in the sixth inning. John McDonald led off the inning with a bloop to center that dropped between out of the reach of a center fielder Owens. Both middle infielders had run into the outfield to make the play, and shortstop Juan Uribe picked the ball up and threw to Buehrle, who was covering second and tagged out McDonald.

Halladay got a nice defensive play from McDonald in the sixth inning. With Paul Konerko on third and two outs, McDonald dove to the ground to stop Scott Podsednik's ball and threw him out from his knees to end the inning.

Buehrle got into trouble in the seventh inning, but was able to pitch out of it. With one out and runners on first and third. Buehrle got Lyle Overbay to go too far on a check swing and then Zaun hit a bouncer to first baseman Paul Konerko. Konerko flipped the ball to Buehrle at first to keep Toronto scoreless.

A night after Toronto starter Josh Towers was critical of his teammates and the coaching staff, the Blue Jays held a players-only meeting before the game.

Catcher Gregg Zaun said he wasn't surprised by Towers' comments after he tried to calm down Towers multiple times during the game.

"I always understand frustration," Zaun said before the game. "I never understand throwing teammates and coaches under the bus."

Notes:@ Richar made his major league debut at second base for the White Sox. He started and hit ninth in the batting order. Richar, who took the roster spot vacated by Tadahito Iguchi, was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte before the game. Iguchi was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Richar got his first career hit in his first at-bat in the second inning. ... Toronto RHP A.J. Burnett is expected to go on a rehab assignment on Wednesday according to manager John Gibbons. Burnett is out because of a right shoulder strain. ... On Thursday, Buehrle's wife Jamie gave birth to their first child Braden David in a St. Louis-area hospital.