Jones' homer sinks M's

CHICAGO (AP) - Andruw Jones has played himself into a starting role on the White Sox.

Jones hit a game-ending home run in the ninth inning and also homered in the first, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 7-6 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

"A lot of guys have been struggling. We just had to make some moves and he's going with the hot bats," Jones said of manager Ozzie Guillen. "I just got an opportunity and I took advantage of it."

Paul Konerko homered and drove in two runs and Alex Rios hit a tying RBI double for the White Sox, who won for the second time in eight games.

Jones, who turned 33 on Friday, signed a one-year deal worth $500,000 plus incentives with the White Sox in the offseason after coming off three straight seasons of batting .222 or lower. Jones did not have an everyday position during spring training but has worked himself into the lineup with six home runs and a .293 average.

Former Mariners reliever Matt Thornton (2-1) was dominant. The White Sox left-hander had five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings for the victory.

With two outs in the ninth, Jones came back from an 0-2 count to homer off Mariners reliever Mark Lowe (1-2) into the left field bullpen.

"I should have put him away when I had him 0-2 but he laid off some really good sliders," Lowe said. "He fouled off some fastballs that were up and had a great at-bat. Then I hung him a slider that he hit to win the game for his team."

Jose Lopez hit his first career grand slam in the seventh inning for the Mariners, who lost for just the second time in nine games.