Manny Ramirez gets rare RBI for White Sox to back John Danks in 6-2 win over Angels

White Sox squeeze Angels 6-2 behind John Danks

ANAHEIM, Calif. — John Danks pitched eight impressive innings, Manny Ramirez capped a four-run third with an RBI double and Juan Pierre pushed across a run with a suicide squeeze, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.

Danks (14-11) allowed two runs and seven hits with five strikeouts to establish a career high for wins, surpassing his totals from 2008 and 2009. The left-hander’s first victory since Sept. 4 ended a drought of 18 consecutive starts by White Sox pitchers without a win — a franchise record that broke the previous mark of 15 in 1985. The rotation was 0-9 with a 6.45 ERA during that 18-game stretch.

Danks, who held the Angels to two hits and no walks in a 1-0 victory July 8 at Chicago for his only big league shutout, made 110 pitches in the rematch. J.J. Putz issued a leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Hank Conger in the ninth and Chris Sale got the last three outs.

The White Sox improved to 82-72, ensuring Ozzie Guillen of his fifth winning record in seven seasons as manager. The only skipper in franchise history with more winning seasons was Hall of Famer Al Lopez, who finished above .500 in each of his nine full seasons on the South Side (1957-65).

Scott Kazmir (9-15) gave up five runs and five hits over three-plus innings in the shortest of his 27 starts this season. The beleaguered left-hander, a two-time All-Star with Tampa Bay, is 2-10 with a 7.00 ERA over his last 14 starts after winning his previous four outings. At Angel Stadium, he is 0-8 with a 6.65 ERA in nine starts since back-to-back wins April 20 and April 25 against the Tigers and Yankees.

In their first game since getting eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2006, the Angels got the jump on Danks in the first inning with an RBI double by Howie Kendrick and a run-scoring single by Torii Hunter. But the White Sox grabbed a 4-2 lead with a two-run single by Alexei Ramirez, followed by RBI doubles from Alex Rios and Manny Ramirez.

For Manny, his opposite-field hit to the wall in right-center on a 2-2 pitch was only his second RBI in 60 at-bats since joining the White Sox on a waiver claim from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 31. The other came on a home run against Detroit’s Max Scherzer on Sept. 17 at Chicago.

Ramon Castro increased the margin to 5-2 in the fourth with his eighth home run, a leadoff drive to center field that chased Kazmir. It was the 25th homer allowed by Kazmir — two more than his previous high in 2008 with the Rays — and the 15th with the bases empty.

Brent Morel scored Chicago’s sixth run on Pierre’s bunt to the right of the plate after leading off the seventh with a single.

The White Sox have won six straight against the Angels for the first time since 1992. The last time Chicago had a longer streak against them was June 1983 to June 1994, when they reeled off 10 in a row.

NOTES: Kazmir is winless in his last six starts against the White Sox. He did not record a strikeout, and still needs nine for 1,000. … The Angels handed out their second annual Nick Adenhart Award to Jered Weaver, who also won it last year. Weaver is 13-11, but his 2.99 ERA and 220 strikeouts gave him the nod over Ervin Santana, who has a career-high 17 wins with two starts remaining. The Adenhart award is given to the team’s top pitcher in memory of the 22-year-old right-hander who was killed with two friends during the first week of the 2009 season, when the car they were riding in was broadsided by an alleged drunk driver — whose fate is now in the hands of a jury in his trial on three counts of second-degree murder. … Hunter was awarded the annual Owner’s Trophy as Angels MVP in a vote by his teammates. Last year’s winner was Kendry Morales, whose 2010 season ended May 29 when he broke his leg jumping on home plate celebrating his 10th-inning grand slam against Seattle. The Angels are 51-52 since Morales’ injury.