FanNation

CHICAGO (AP) - With a lot on his mind and not much rest, Mark Buehrle managed to be his vintage self.

The White Sox ace pitched 7 1-3 innings and Alexei Ramirez hit the first grand slam of his career to help Chicago beat the Texas Rangers 10-2 Tuesday night.

Nick Swisher hit a three-run homer, Jermaine Dye had three hits and Jim Thome reached base four times as the White Sox snapped a three-game losing streak.

Pitching on three days rest so he could attend his grandfather's funeral in Missouri, Buehrle (8-8) gave up a leadoff triple to Hank Blalock in the second inning and then retired 15 of the next 16 batters.

``I said in pregame he was going to do something special today,'' Swisher said. ``Dealing with a loss like that, definitely puts a damper on yourself and your family and he went out there and pitched a great game. We wanted to be behind him a hundred and fifty percent and we got him some runs early and he was the traditional Mark Buehrle.''

Buehrle's last start against the Rangers was his no-hitter on April 18, 2007. His only blemish on Tuesday night came in the eighth when he gave up a solo shot to Chris Davis.

``Pitching stops hitting,'' Rangers manager Ron Washington said. ``I keep saying that. Nobody's listening. Pitching stops hitting. How can you keep scoring seven runs a night. Nobody does that in the game of baseball.''

Washington took notice of Buehrle when he stranded Blalock in the second inning as the left-handed veteran retired Brandon Boggs, Davis and Jarrod Saltamacchia.

``You got three young kids and he took them to school. Cut that fastball in on their hands and wouldn't allow them to extend,'' said Washington.

Buehrle left to a loud standing ovation after allowing one run on six hits and no walks.

``Obviously, I had a feeling why the crowd was going crazy. But not as much as I thought they would. The next couple of days will be a little bit more emotional,'' said Buehrle.

Buehrle is 6-2 with a 1.76 ERA in his last nine starts.

``This is one of the better stretches I have been on in my career for this amount of time. I had some good games, some good stretches, but for this many games in a row I have thrown the ball pretty well,'' Buehrle said.

Luis Mendoza (2-4) gave up an RBI double to Dye in the first inning and got roughed up in the fourth, allowing Swisher's three-run homer and A.J. Pierzynski's RBI single to put Chicago up 5-0.

Mendoza was pulled after giving up consecutive singles to Dye and Thome in the fifth. He allowed six runs on nine hits in four-plus innings.

After getting the first two outs in the seventh inning, Justin Nippert walked Thome and Swisher around a single by Konerko before Ramirez's slam.

White Sox reliever Nick Masset was forced out when Milton Bradley's liner went off his chest in the eighth inning.

Notes: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen won his 400th game. ... White Sox 3B Joe Crede was a late scratch from the lineup with lower back stiffness and will play on Wednesday against the Rangers. ... The Rangers have not committed an error since the All-Star break. ... Dye missed Monday's game after getting plunked on the right knee by a pitch on Sunday.