BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Jason Johnson continued the Baltimore Orioles' stretch of strong starting pitching.
Johnson allowed one run and one hit in six-plus innings and Jeff Conine belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the first as the Orioles coasted to a 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
"I did not have great stuff out there," Johnson said. "I had nothing when I was warming up before the game. It was just one of those games where I had to constantly battle because I had no command."
Trailing, 3-1, the White Sox thought they tied the game in the fifth on an apparent two-run homer by Joe Crede. Replays appeared to show that Crede hooked the ball inside the left field foul poul, but after conferring, the umpires called it foul.
Strangely, the White Sox did not argue the call. Manager Jerry Manuel calmly returned to the dugout after a brief discussion with the umpires.
"I thought it was fair," Manuel said. "The (third base) umpire said he had a good look. I saw it the other way. It was a big turning point in the game. It would have tied it up, a whole different ballgame."
"It's a foul ball, that's all I'm gonna say," Crede said. "I never saw a foul ball change the outcome of a game."
Johnson (3-0) walked four, struck out two and did not allow a hit until Paul Konerko delivered a one-out single in the fifth. Johnson walked Magglio Ordonez to start the seventh, then left with a callous on the middle finger of his pitching hand after throwing two balls to Konerko.
"It was a callous that hardened and split," Johnson said. "They took care of it. I won't miss a start, I'll be OK. I'm getting some breaks this year, no doubt."
In the last four games, Baltimore starters have allowed just four runs in 28 innings for a 1.29 ERA.
"I gotta be honest, I couldn't throw a pitch over the plate tonight," Johnson said. "They got me some runs early, which helped me big-time."
Ordonez went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks, ending his career-high 18-game hitting streak.
The Orioles gave Johnson all the support he needed in the first inning. Bartolo Colon (2-1) issued a leadof walk to Melvin Mora and gave up a single to B.J. Surhoff before Conine drilled an 3-2 pitch over the left field fence for his second home run.
"He's definitely one of the best," Conine said of Colon. "It's a big win for us, especially being able to hit him."
The White Sox got a run off Johnson in the second without a hit as Ordonez led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a pair of groundouts.
Baltimore got back the run in the fifth when Mora scored on B.J. Surhoff's foul pop-up behind third base and made it 5-1 in the sixth on Jay Gibbons' solo homer.
Colon surrendered five runs and seven hits in six innings before the Orioles tacked on two runs in the seventh off Tom Gordon.
"Their guy was sharp, we were flat," Konerko said. "It was a little bit of both."
"His location was not good tonight," Chicago catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. said of Colon. "His breaking ball was not sharp. It was a tough night for him."
Orioles manager Mike Hargrove missed his fourth straight game to be with his mother, who underwent emergency gallbladder surgery Sunday night.
Sam Perlozzo improved to 3-1 as acting manager.
