CHICAGO (AP) -Gavin Floyd got his 10th win with an approach that's worked well all season and made him the biggest winner on the Chicago White Sox's staff.
``Whatever the catcher throws down, I'm going with it,'' the White Sox's tall right-hander said Saturday after beating the Oakland Athletics with 7 1-3 scoreless innings. ``Unless I have a hunch.''
Floyd (10-4) allowed just three singles with three walks and six strikeouts and was backed by three more White Sox homers in Saturday night's 6-1 victory.
His wins are stacking up - he had just eight total entering this season - and his ERA has dropped to 3.22.
``I'm conscious of it. ... I'm just thankful things have gone this way so far,'' he said.
Oakland had captured the first two games of the four-game series to cool off the White Sox, who'd won seven straight before the A's came to town.
But Nick Swisher, Brian Anderson and Alexei Ramirez all homered for the White Sox, who stayed a game ahead of the surging Twins in the AL Central.
When they've homered this season, the White Sox are 46-16.
``When guys like me pick one up it's a bonus,'' Anderson said. ``We have a lot of home run hitters on our team, so that's just the way it's going to be.''
Oakland's Ryan Sweeney - who was part of the trade that sent Swisher to the White Sox in the offseason - spoiled the shutout with a solo homer leading off the ninth against reliever Scott Linebrink. Sweeney reached base four times.
Swisher, who was 3-for-14 against his former team this season when he came up in the second, hit a solo homer against Greg Smith - his 12th of the season. Anderson, who also made a couple of nice catches in center field, connected on a two-run shot in the fifth - his fifth of the season.
Ramirez, who was 3-for-3 with a walk, led off the bottom of the eighth against Andrew Brown with his seventh homer.
``They were right down the middle and if you do that with these White Sox, they're going to do that,'' Smith said of the homers he gave up to Swisher and Anderson. ``Just two mistakes.''
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen liked what he saw from Ramirez in spring training. Now that he's taken over as the starter at second base, the former Cuban League star has developed into a major offensive contributor who combines speed and power.
``I'm not going to say it too loud because all of a sudden they're going to try to throw breaking balls to him, but he's got some serious power,'' Guillen said.
Smith walked Swisher to start the sixth and was replaced by Chad Gaudin, who gave up a single to Ramirez and then a two-run double to Orlando Cabrera that deflected off the glove of third baseman Jack Hannahan.
Smith (5-7), who pitched a complete game four-hitter in his previous start against the Angels, went five-plus innings, allowing five hits and four runs while tying a career high with six walks. The rookie lefty had beaten the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field with a strong seven-inning performance in April.
Chicago's Jermaine Dye made a nice running catch of Kurt Suzuki's foul fly in the fourth and his momentum carried him over the railing and into the seats along the right field line. Sweeney, who was on first after getting Oakland's first hit off Floyd, was awarded second because Dye left the field of play. Floyd then pitched out of it as Anderson tracked down Jack Cust's drive to center and Mark Ellis fouled out.
Notes: SS Bobby Crosby became the third Oakland player in four days to go on the DL. Keith Foulke and Eric Chavez went earlier in the week. Crosby has a strained left hamstring. ... Chicago closer Bobby Jenks hopes to be available to pitch again Tuesday after an MRI and CT scan taken Saturday were negative. Jenks had been bothered by tightness in an area below his left shoulder in his upper back and hasn't pitched since June 29. ... A's OF Carlos Gonzalez sat out because of a tight hamstring.
