Alvarez Wins Again Against Former Team

CHICAGO —  Wilson Alvarez has managed only seven victories since joining the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Three have come against the team that traded him nearly two years ago.

“Nothing against those guys. I’m here now. The old times are over. I’m a Devil Ray now,” Alvarez said Thursday after giving up only one hit in five-plus innings of a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, his third in a row over his former team.

“This is my ex-home. I like to pitch in this park. It’s a nice place to pitch. It helps a lot to go out there with a little more confidence. I say to myself, ‘I got to go out there and beat them.’ That’s what I did.”

Alvarez (1-1), who hadn’t pitched since April 11 because of an inflamed shoulder, was activated from the disabled list before the game. On a 75-pitch limit, he gave up a third-inning single to Jeff Abbott, walked three and struck out two. He has a 0.46 earned-run average in three starts against Chicago.

” I expected myself to be a little bit more wild,” he said. “I was throwing strikes and that’s good. I was a little surprised about my control. I just hope it keeps going. I need to pitch better than what I did last year.”

Alvarez, bothered by shoulder problems, was 6-14 last season.

“This is familiar ground to Wilson,” White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel said. “If there was any place to return to after an injury, it was that piece of dirt out there.”

Roberto Hernandez pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

Wade Boggs hit a wind-whipped, two-run double against Mike Sirotka (1-3) to give the Devil Rays a 3-0 cushion in the sixth, and Fred McGriff connected for his fifth homer against reliever Bryan Ward in the eighth.