Birmingham inching closer to Southern League title

CHICAGO -- While the White Sox won't be part of the 2013 playoffs, their Double-A affiliate in Birmingham moved one step closer to a Southern League title Wednesday with an 8-3 victory over Mobile in Game 1 of the championship series.

Chris Bassitt earned the victory with seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings. Cody Puckett had three hits, including a homer, and Micah Johnson had two hits and two RBIs.

"Last night's win was a great momentum builder," Birmingham manager Julio Vinas said. "Our pitching was really good. We pounded the zone and made their guys swing it and used our defense behind to pull it off. We did really well against their best pitcher [Archie Bradley]."