CHICAGO - In what was surely one of the biggest on-paper mismatches in recent baseball history, the White Sox were blown away - almost literally - with the outcome of Dylan Axelrod vs. Felix Hernandez.

Axelrod may not have won Saturday's 4-3 decision over the Mariners, but he allowed no earned runs on three hits in 52/3 innings and left with a 1-1 tie.

"'Ax' was matching him out there," manager Robin Ventura said. "You never can tell. It's one of those rough days out there wind-wise. Ax was great.

"It was one of those that he showed he can pitch with anybody."

So the Sox's No. 5 starter came out on top over the Mariners' No. 1, which may not be quite as surprising as those who make out the "on-paper" forms would have us believe. With the loss, Hernandez is now 1-5 lifetime at U.S. Cellular Field and 0-2 with a 6.50 ERA in his last three starts.

"There's no explanation for that. It's just part of the game," said Alex Rios, whose two-run sixth-inning homer was his second blast in less than 24 hours and gave the Sox a 3-1 lead. "He wasn't (as good) as usual. He throws 94-95 (mph), and he was in the low 90s today. He threw that pitch right over the plate, and I took advantage of it."

Rios' long poke to left field made a winner of veteran left-hander Donnie Veal, who retired all three batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings. It was his first victory since Sept. 25, 2009, with the Pirates.

The White Sox scored an insurance run in the seventh inning on Conor Gillaspie's single, Alexei Ramirez's double and an intentional walk to backup catcher Hector Gimenez in front of Alejandro De Aza's sacrifice fly.

They needed that run, as Matt Thornton gave up a two-run homer to Michael Saunders in the eighth, at the same time losing his hat to a wind gust. The hat wound up by the Mariners' dugout.

"Any ball that went up, it could have gone anywhere," Ventura said. "The last (homer) with Saunders started out in left-center and ended up at the bullpen. ... You see balls go up and think they're fair or foul, and they either come back or go in the stands. It's not an easy day. It's about as close as you can get to (what Candlestick Park was for baseball in San Francisco), I guess."

Said Axelrod: "I had to step off (the mound) a few times. I didn't want to lose my balance. I didn't have my best stuff overall. I just had to battle through it and the conditions."

And, for a fifth starter, Axelrod battled about as well as he could.

"It's one of those, it doesn't matter the situation, he's under control," Ventura said. "He's very confident. You couldn't tell what he's thinking by what's going on out there. Very composed for a young pitcher, but also he knows what he's doing."

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