BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Deivi Cruz and Gary Matthews Jr. homered in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Baltimore Orioles rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Cruz led off the seventh with his second homer of the season, sending reliever Rick White's offering over the left field fence to slice Orioles' deficit to 4-3. White struck out Geronimo Gil but exited after Melvin Mora doubled.
Tom Gordon (1-2) came on and struck out Jose Leon, but Matthews belted a first-pitch fastball over the right field wall for his first home run since August 20.
Baltimore won for the seventh time in nine games and improved to 6-2 in games decided after the sixth inning. The Orioles have homered in 10 straight games and have won three consecutive series for the first time in nearly a year.
"I don't know about it, I just want to win game," Mora said. "We have a lot of professionals here who just try to keep it going."
"We may not have that big bopper, but we have a bunch of guys who can bop," Matthews added. "We have power throughout the lineup. It serves us well in late innings. We have a team of unselfish players and when somebody moves a baserunner over, the entire dugout is up to congratulate you. It lets you know how unselfish guys are."
Matthews' blast gave the Orioles their fourth win in five games since bench coach Sam Perlozzo took over for manager Mike Hargrove, who flew to Texas to be with his mother following emergency gallbladder surgery.
"It was a great baseball game," Perlozzo said. "We battled back and never quit. There seems to a lot of life on the bench. Everyone is contributing. It all seems to be coming together."
"It was tough tonight," Gordon said. "I felt good out there. I thought it was a good pitch. For the most part, I didn't think he would hit that pitch."
Baltimore starter Rodrigo Lopez remained winless, allowing four runs and seven hits in six innings. B.J. Ryan got two outs in the seventh and Willis Roberts (2-1) gave up a hit in 1 1/3 innings before Jorge Julio retired the side in the ninth for his sixth save.
Lopez was staked to a two-run lead as Mora hit his fifth career leadoff homer and Matthews scored on Jeff Conine's sacrifice fly in the first inning.
Despite being bailed out by the late rally, Lopez remained winless in seven starts since September 13.
The White Sox scored twice in the second as Carlos Lee doubled in Paul Konerko came in on a sacrifice fly by Joe Crede.
Chicago added two runs before Lopez could get an out in the third. D'Angelo Jimenez singled ahead of Jose Valentin's fifth homer.
But the White Sox got just three hits the rest of the way after being held to three in Wednesday's 7-1 loss. They have dropped four of five.
"I'm not concerned about it," right fielder Magglio Ordonez said. "We're having a tough time swinging the bat right now. No one is hitting."
"We haven't swung the bat, regardless of who we play," Chicago manager Jerry Manuel added. "We had our chances tonight. A hit here or there would have changed things."
