Ozzie Guillen took his shots, and now, his hitters are taking theirs.

Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez homered, and Joe Crede had another big day at the plate as the Chicago White Sox routed the Minnesota Twins again, 12-2 on Sunday for their sixth straight win.

The latest outburst came exactly one week after Guillen lashed out at his struggling hitters. Since then?

Fifty-four runs during this streak. They’ve scored 10 or more in three consecutive games for the first time since July 15-17, 2000, against St. Louis and Milwaukee. The 15 hits Sunday gave Chicago at least 15 in three straight games for the first time since July 23-24, 1932, against Cleveland.

The most important number, though, is this: zero. That’s how many losses the White Sox have since Guillen’s tirade in Tampa Bay, and their lead over second-place Minnesota in the AL Central is now 5 1/2 games.

“You want to pull your own weight, individually or as a unit,” Chicago’s Paul Konerko said. “You don’t have to score 10 runs every game. We should be able to score four to six runs a night on average to give these guys a chance to win. … We’ve got to have some easy games, and the offense has to pull their weight on that.”

The hitters did just that, and Guillen was in a much better mood than he was a week earlier.

“I said in spring training I think this team can be special,” he said. “I don’t know how far we’re going to get, but this team has a chance to be special.”

After winning the first two games of this four-game series 10-6 and 11-2, the White Sox quickly jumped on the Twins, who dropped their fourth straight and matched their longest losing streak since Sept. 12-16.

Swisher’s three-run homer off Kevin Slowey (2-6) in the second made it 3-1 and Chicago broke it open with five more in the third, with Paul Konerko’s two-run double highlighting that rally. Ramirez added a two-run shot in the fifth, giving Chicago 16 homers in this streak.

“Another day of not being able to get through the first part of the ballgame,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Slowey, I think he tried everything. Good pitches, bad pitches, they seemed to be hitting just about everything we threw up there.”

That was more than enough for Gavin Floyd (7-3), who struck out a career-high nine and walked one while allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings.

He had plenty of support from an offense that roughed up Slowey for eight runs in three innings—after the start was delayed 89 minutes by rain.

“They hit just about everything—whether it was a good pitch, medium pitch or a very poor pitch,” Slowey said. “It’s tough. I’m sure some of the older guys will tell you and they’ve said it to us young pitchers, that you’ll go through stretches and it’s sometimes inexplicable.”

Swisher, whose average has hovered around .200, has a seven-game hitting streak. He pumped his fist after rounding first on the homer and had more to celebrate in the fifth when he added an RBI double.

Crede, meanwhile, continued his surge.

He is 10-for-15 with 12 RBIs in his last four games after going 2-for-4 and driving in two runs on Sunday. After hitting homers in three straight games for the first time in his career, including two each on Friday and Saturday, Crede doubled and singled and scored twice.

One week earlier, Guillen unleashed a tirade that seemed to be aimed at general manager Kenny Williams and hitting coach Greg Walker after watching his team go 5-for-39 with runners in scoring position while dropping three of four at Tampa Bay. Guillen called for roster changes while saying his job and Walker’s could be in jeopardy

The Friendly Confines have never seemed friendlier, and that’s a big reason why the Cubs are the best team in baseball entering June for the first time in 100 years.

Alfonso Soriano homered, Jim Edmonds drove in two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the reeling Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Sunday to complete a perfect seven-game homestand.

The Cubs entered June with the best record in baseball for the first time since 1908, when they last won a World Series. They started the new month by finishing a four-game sweep of the defending National League champions and sending them to their seventh straight loss.

Chicago is 26-8 at Wrigley Field after wrapping up its first perfect homestand of at least seven games since April 14-26, 1970. Now, they’ll try to establish some momentum away from home.

The road has been far less friendly, and one concern is that they’ve played 11 more games at home than they have on the road.

To shape their future, the Chicago Bulls could turn to the past.

Doug Collins, who guided the Bulls and a young Michael Jordan from 1986-89 but couldn’t get them past Detroit in the playoffs, has talked with the team about returning as coach.

“I have spoken with Bulls management recently about their head coaching vacancy and will resume conversations after the conclusion of my work for TNT in the Western Conference finals,” Collins said in a statement Thursday from Los Angeles, where he was working Game 5 of the Spurs-Lakers series. “There is no agreement in place.”

During a pre-game interview on TNT, Collins said he talked with both Bulls general manager John Paxson and team owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

“I have not been offered. I have not accepted,” Collins said.

“Jerry Reinsdorf has been a friend of mine the last 20 years so he and I have spoken on a lot of occasions over the last 20 years. … the whole thing is there’s interest on both sides.”

Collins added that as soon as the Western Conference finals were over: “We’ve agreed to sit down and talk to see exactly what is there.”

Known for his emotional style, Collins also coached the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards—when Jordan was head of basketball operations there and made a comeback as a player.

Chicago has had a vacancy since interim coach Jim Boylan was fired after the end of a disappointing 33-49 season. Boylan had replaced Scott Skiles, who was fired last Christmas Eve after the Bulls’ surprisingly sluggish start following three straight playoff appearances.

The Bulls have a nucleus of young talent and also won the recent draft lottery, giving them the overall No. 1 pick next month when they are expected to choose between Kansas State’s Michael Beasley or Memphis’ Derrick Rose.

But they are coming off a season fraught with problems that included players missing practices and having angry exchanges with coaches. Joakim Noah, last year’s first-round pick, was recently arrested in Gainesville, Fla., for having an open container of alcohol and was also charged with marijuana possession.

Collins, who appeared content to stay in TV, where is considered one of the best analysts, could be ready to tackle an NBA head coaching job for the fourth time. He’s been fired three times. Web sites at both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune said Collins would fill Chicago’s vacancy.

Collins said he decided to explore the job after getting the go-ahead and encouragement from his son Chris, who is an assistant coach at Duke.

“Chris has always been the reluctant one. He basically really gave me the real freedom to explore opportunities that maybe I hadn’t done over the last five years,” Collins said.

Paxson released a statement that was posted on the team’s Web site.

“I have been in contact with Doug Collins in regard to our head coaching position. Contrary to some reports that are currently out there, we have not reached an agreement,” said Paxson, who played under Collins during his first stint in Chicago.

“Right now, his commitment is covering the Western Conference finals for TNT. When that series concludes, we will continue our dialogue. In the meantime, I will continue to talk to other candidates and review our options,” Paxson added.

The Bulls had been interested in former Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, but he took the Knicks job before Chicago could make an offer.

Collins had a 137-109 record during his first stint with the Bulls, going 40-42 in his first season when they were swept in the first round by Boston.

Chicago was 50-32 the next year but was beaten by the Pistons in five games in the conference semifinals. The Bulls were 47-35 the next season and again were eliminated by Detroit, this time in six games in the conference finals.

Collins was fired and replaced by Phil Jackson, whose first team also lost to Detroit in the conference finals, 4-3. The following season the Bulls swept the Pistons and went on to the first of six championships in the 90s with Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Collins worked 2 1/2 seasons with the Pistons starting in 1995, going 46-36, 54-28 and 21-24. He was let go amid reports his style caused friction with some players.

He was 37-45 in both seasons in Washington but couldn’t get the Wizards into the playoffs. He was fired shortly after Jordan was denied a return to the front office.

Collins’ overall record is 332-287 and 15-23 in the postseason.

You won’t find Carlos Quentin’s name on an All-Star ballot, but he’s right where he belongs in the middle of a first-place lineup.

The White Sox weren’t positive their new outfielder would even make the roster out of spring training because of a bum shoulder, yet the Arizona castoff is turning his surprise start into a starring role.

Quentin hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 3-1 Thursday night for its eighth straight victory.

“That’s the reason he’s batting third,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Quentin had two RBIs, giving him 40 this season, and Jermaine Dye added a run-scoring single in the eighth to finish off a three-game sweep of the punchless Indians, who have scored only 13 runs during their six-game losing streak.

“It’s fun today,” Guillen said. “But I take it one day at a time. You can’t get too high, you can’t get low. We’ve got a good thing going. When you have a run like this you can’t wait to get back to the ballpark.”

The Indians, 4 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Chicago, return home after a winless road trip and in a profound hitting slump. They had just two hits: Grady Sizemore’s RBI double in the third and Ben Francisco’s bunt single in the sixth.

“You can’t give into it,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said of the team’s slugging woes. “I know the results aren’t there. I’m not happy about it. They’re not happy about it. But you’ve got to keep fighting.”

Scott Linebrink (1-0) got the win, striking out two in the eighth. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 12th save for the White Sox, who own a 3 1/2 -game lead over second-place Minnesota.

White Sox starter Mark Buehrle didn’t get a decision, but pitched one of his best games of the season, allowing one run and two hits with four walks in seven innings. Buehrle had been struggling, but has given up just two runs in his last 13 2-3 innings.

“Any starting pitcher wants to win,” Buehrle said. “But I’ve always said I can go 0-0 and if they win all my starts we’ll be in the right place at the end of the year.”

Jermaine Dye watched A.J Pierzynski go hard into second base to help break up a double play. Dye then delivered big shot of his own.

Dye hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning, and added solo shot in the seventh, and the Chicago White Sox won their seventh straight game with a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.

Michael Aubrey hit a solo home run in the second inning for the Indians, who have lost a season-high five straight games.

With a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, Indians starter Paul Byrd (2-4) allowed a leadoff single to Orlando Cabrera and walked Pierzynski.

Carlos Quentin followed with a sharp grounder to third baseman Casey Blake. Blake started what could have been a 5-4-3 double play, but Pierzynski slid hard at second, putting pressure on second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera.

Cabrera got off an accurate throw, but first base umpire Paul Schrieber called Quentin safe. After Indians manager Eric Wedge argued the call, Dye hit a 2-1 pitch into the left field seats, putting the White Sox ahead.

“You can’t teach hustle. No matter if you’re hitting good or you’re struggling you can still go out and hustle. Certain plays are the key in the ballgame,” said Dye. “It definitely was a big play. Anytime you break up a double play with the middle of the lineup coming up, you never know what can happen.”

Byrd saw the play differently.

“Instead of letting Jermaine Dye hit a sacrifice fly or making my pitch, I tried to strike him out,” said Byrd. “The play definitely changed the game but I can’t cry about it or blame anybody else. The umpire made a mistake but I have to adapt and overcome that and make the pitch.”

Javier Vazquez (5-3) overpowered a struggling Indians lineup with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and ended his outing by striking out Jhonny Peralta.

“He seemed to get better as the game was going on. He didn’t have a real good breaking ball tonight, but he battled through it,” Pierzynski said.

 Suddenly, a coaching search isn’t the only big decision facing the Chicago Bulls.

Now they have to figure out what to do with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Bulls were the surprise winners of the draft lottery Tuesday night, giving them the right to choose between Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.

Hiring a new coach and deciding what to do in free agency already figured to take up plenty of general manager John Paxson’s time. He never figured one of college basketball’s stud freshmen could land in his lap.

“I try to stay realistic through all these things for the odds,” Paxson said on a conference call. “Tonight for some reason that ball popped up for us and we were there. Now it’s my job to make the most of it.”

Coming off a miserable season and still without a coach, the Bulls vaulted from the No. 9 spot, where they had a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top choice

“After this season, we needed a break and I think we just got one tonight,” said Steve Schanwald, the Bulls’ executive vice president of business operations who represented them on the podium.

Chicago will almost certainly choose between Beasley, the Kansas State forward who averaged 26.2 points and an NCAA-best 12.4 rebounds, or Rose, the point guard who carried Memphis within minutes of the national title.

“We’ll have an opportunity to get close to those guys. We’ll really take a long look at what makes the most sense for our basketball team,” Paxson said. “Having the pick puts you in a unique position to make your team better.”

The Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick thanks to their NBA-worst 15-67 record, fell to second. The Minnesota Timberwolves will go third.

The Seattle SuperSonics, who moved up to No. 2 last year to pick Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, fell from second to fourth. Memphis will pick fifth, followed by New York, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Charlotte and New Jersey.

Indiana has the 11th pick, followed by Sacramento, Portland and Golden State. The lottery settled the top three spots. The remainder of the first 14 picks are determined inverse order of their record.

The NBA draft will be held June 26 in New York.

Chicago came into the season with high expectations after reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. But the Bulls never recovered from a dismal start and finished 33-49. They fired coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve and have already decided not to retain interim coach Jim Boylan.

The Bulls failed to land the coach they wanted, Mike D’Antoni, but the position became much more appealing Tuesday, giving them a chance to draft first for only the second time. The Bulls, who took Elton Brand No. 1 in 1999, could turn this time to hometown star Rose, who D’Antoni said was like Jason Kidd with a jump shot.

“Everybody was picking us to go to the conference finals last year, actually to the NBA finals because we won 49 games the year before and pushed the Detroit Pistons to six games in the second round last year and we have a very exciting good corps of young players, and we added Joakim Noah to that mix,” Schanwald said. “Now we will get a chance to add another great player, a really great player. So it is very exciting for us.”

Schanwald gave a fist pump early on when he realized he would move up, then took a deep breath and pumped both fists after beating out the Heat, represented by All-Star guard Dwyane Wade.

Only twice have teams with the worst record won the lottery since the current format began in 1994. Though the lottery is weighted to give teams with the poorest records the best chance to win, the longshots keep finding a way.

Last year, Portland and Seattle moved up to grab the top spots, taking Greg Oden and Durant. Again, two star freshmen are the top prizes.

“Obviously the lottery as a precursor to the draft is a time of great hope,” commissioner David Stern said.

The Bulls already had a busy offseason planned. Besides hiring a coach, they have to make contract offers to restricted free agents Luol Deng and Ben Gordon.

Now they’ve got another decision: Beasley or Rose?

“As I sit here tonight, what I think is again you’ve got two players who are different and unique,” Paxson said. “One is point guard. The point guard is a natural leadership position on a team. It’s something every team covets. And the other … just has the unique ability to put the ball in the basket, just will be a go-to scorer.

“I’m certainly not going to throw myself into this thing and do something quickly.”

Nor will the Heat. President Pat Riley likes both players, but implied the pick could even be traded.

“Based on their performance and what they did in one season, both of them showed that they can help their team win,” Riley said. “Both showed enough physical maturity to be dominant at times as a 19-year-old. All of the intangibles when it comes to competitive desire and when it comes to leadership and character and all of those things, we still have a lot of work to do in terms of a lot of players in the draft.”

The Bulls’ surprising victory should quickly restore interest in the underachieving team. Interviewed immediately following the result, Schanwald read the number for callers to buy season tickets.

“I thought it was a waste of time. I thought coming here was an absolute waste of time. I knew I would get a great meal out of it, but I thought it was a waste of time,” Schanwald said of the Bulls’ chances.

“I’m on top of the world. I feel great. It’s the most exciting day of my life,” he added

Carlos Zambrano switched to longer sleeves after three innings, not so much to combat the cold—as would be expected—but to cover a scab on his pitching arm.

Big Z was plenty ready for the elements on a 41-degree night in mid-May and showed his sense of humor Monday night after pitching and batting the Chicago Cubs to a 12-3 win over the San Diego Padres.

“It’s OK for me. I’m from Alaska,” Zambrano said, drawing laughs at his postgame news conference.

“No, it’s tough man, especially for me. I’m from South America, Venezuela. It is not this cold. Not even close,” he said.

“As a starting pitcher … don’t worry about the cold factor, just try to hit your spots and try to do the best you can to keep the inning quick.”

But the Cubs made sure the Padres couldn’t get off the field soon enough, scoring six runs in the fifth—started by Zambrano’s double—and adding five more in the sixth, when he added a single. They had 13 hits and made the most of nine walks issued by the Padres.

Pitching with an extra day’s rest after his start Sunday was scratched because of rainy conditions, Zambrano (6-1) allowed six hits and three runs in seven innings. And he was part of a batting order that was on base all night.

“I think we have a very good lineup, very balanced,” said Alfonso Soriano, who homered in the fifth and is 7-for-14 during the Cubs’ four-game winning streak. “Be more aggressive and, at the same time, selective at home plate. That’s what I try to do because I know when I swing at a strike, I know that I hit the ball very hard.”

The Cubs’ first eight batters reached in the fifth on six hits and two walks. Randy Wolf (2-3) didn’t retire a batter in the inning and in four-plus innings, he gave up eight hits, seven runs and five walks.

“In the fifth inning, there is really no way to candy coat it,” Wolf said. “I was bad. I didn’t make the pitches I needed to. They capitalized on it. You get behind and you don’t locate. Those are two recipes for something bad to happen.”

Jody Gerut’s first homer in nearly three years gave the Padres a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth, but the Cubs quickly responded.

Zambrano drove a ball off the wall in right-center for a leadoff double and Soriano followed with a drive to left-center that just cleared the fence for his fourth homer, putting Chicago up 3-2.

Ryan Theriot walked, Derrek Lee singled and Aramis Ramirez had an RBI single before Kosuke Fukudome worked a walk to load the bases. Geovany Soto’s two-run single through the middle made it 6-2 and finished Wolf. Mark DeRosa then greeted reliever Sean Henn with an RBI single.

“He couldn’t make a pitch to get himself out of it,” Padres manager Bud Black said of Wolf.

In the sixth, the Cubs batted around again. They loaded the bases for the third time in the game on Soriano’s double and walks to Theriot and Ramirez before Fukudome drew his third walk of the game to force in a run.

It got worse for the Padres, who have the worst record in the majors at 14-25.

When DeRosa hit a grounder to third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, he tried to race to the bag for a force, but Ramirez beat him there. Kouzmanoff then threw wildly to first for an error and three runs ended up scoring on the play as the Cubs went up 11-2. Reed Johnson later added an RBI single.

Fukudome’s three walks were a big part of the Cubs’ offense.

“The guy knows how to play baseball,” Zambrano said. “He came to the U.S. ready to play. One thing I see in Fukudome is he can handle it with all the media and all the fans.”

Lee’s double into the right-field corner scored Theriot, who singled, in the first to put the Cubs ahead 1-0. Tadahito Iguchi hit an RBI single in the third to tie it.

Derrek Lee already has as many homers in the first month of this season as he did in the entire first half a year ago.

Lee’s early surge continued Wednesday night as he and Carlos Zambrano carried the Cubs to a 12-3 victory over slumping Cincinnati—the Reds’ fifth straight loss under former Chicago manager Dusty Baker.

Lee homered among his three hits and Zambrano also went 3-for-4 while pitching seven strong innings. The Cubs jumped out early with 10 runs by the third inning and made it easy for their ace.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella knows how much Zambrano enjoys hitting—he’s been used as a pinch-hitter occasionally—and had teased the big right-hander about his slow start, telling him he was a batting practice hitter.

“Lou was telling me, `When are you going to get a hit this year?”’ said Zambrano, who was 0-for-8 entering Wednesday’s game after batting .247 last season.

“I said, `I don’t know.’ I was hitting .000 before the game and now I’m hitting .250.”

Lee raised his average to .393 and after hitting only 22 homers last season, he’s already connected for six—the same number he had before the All-Star break a year ago.

“We got contributions throughout the lineup, especially our third hitter. He’s really in a nice groove,” Piniella said. “He’s zoned in. The ball just jumps off his bat.”

The Cubs scored four runs in the first and six in the third to give Zambrano an early cushion on another blustery night at Wrigley Field with the wind gusting out at 20 mph.

Zambrano (2-1) allowed eight hits and two runs. Chicago, meanwhile, hit Josh Fogg (1-2) hard. He gave up seven hits and was charged with nine runs in two-plus innings.

“When you give Big Z a 10-run lead by the third, you might catch up but your odds aren’t real good,” Baker said. “We didn’t get to use that wind out there. They hit us around the ballpark pretty good.”

Fogg said the wind was difficult but that’s not necessarily why he pitched so poorly.

“It’s a factor. For me today it wasn’t a very big factor because I didn’t pitch very well, so it didn’t matter,” he said. “Zambrano did a pretty good job pitching in it, so it’s not like it was impossible. You just have to make quality pitches and I wasn’t able to do that.”

Adam Dunn did homer for the Reds, off reliever Kevin Hart in the eighth. That’s when fans at Wrigley Field not only threw one ball back—as is a tradition after an opponent’s homer—they littered the field with 15 baseballs, momentarily halting play.

“I was surprised. I didn’t know that many people hit a home run today,” Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome said through a translator.

Chicago didn’t miss leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano, who went on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained right calf, an injury he sustained in the first inning of Tuesday night’s 9-5 win when he caught a fly ball.

Bases-loaded doubles by Fukudome in the first and Geovany Soto in the third were key hits Wednesday night. Zambrano had the third three-hit game of his career—two singles and a double—and an RBI.

Lee’s solo shot started the six-run third.

Fogg then loaded the bases for the second time in three innings as the Cubs had two walks and a single before Soto delivered a two-run double for a 7-1 lead. Reed Johnson greeted reliever Mike Lincoln with a sacrifice fly, Zambrano had an RBI single and a sixth run scored on a wild pitch.

In the first, Fogg gave up a double to Ryan Theriot and a single to Lee before hitting Aramis Ramirez with a pitch to load the bases. Fukudome doubled past first for a 2-0 lead and Mark DeRosa followed with another two-run double.

The Reds had a big inning working in the top of the second when Dunn walked with one out and Edwin Encarnacion blooped a single to left. Joey Votto then hit a high, wind-blown fly to left that DeRosa—playing in place of Soriano— misjudged. The ball hit the warning track and went for a ground-rule RBI double.

But with runners at second and third, Zambrano grabbed Javier Valentin’s hard comebacker and was able to catch Encarnacion off third. He was tagged out in a rundown. Cubs shortstop Theriot then saved another run by going behind second on a high bouncer by Fogg to throw him out and end the inning.

Jeff Keppinger doubled in a run in the seventh for the Reds.

The Tigers have the worst record in the major leagues, and Detroit manager Jim Leyland couldn’t contain himself anymore.

Following Sunday’s 11-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox, Leyland was heard screaming in the clubhouse before reporters were allowed inside. He wouldn’t comment on the rant, but the manager said it wasn’t just about the loss.

“There was one thing that sticks out to me right now that’s going on, and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Leyland said, without revealing the issue.

Joe Crede and Paul Konerko hit grand slams to back Javier Vazquez’s strong start. Konerko’s homer came in the third off Kenny Rogers and Crede’s grand slam, his second this season, came in the fifth against Zach Miner as the White Sox won for the fifth time in six games over Detroit, the preseason favorite to win the AL Central.

“We got Detroit at the right time,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “Those guys are going to wake up sooner or later. They have unbelievable talent.”

Chicago has a 5 1/2 -game lead in the division over the Tigers. The White Sox have outscored Detroit 46-12 this season, despite the Tigers adding slugging third baseman Miguel Cabrera to an already powerful lineup.

“Where we’re at makes sense because that’s the way we’ve played,” Leyland said. “It’s not surprising that we’re 2-10. We’ve been shut out four times. … I didn’t think we’d get shut out four times all year, to be honest with you.”

Detroit has been shutout out twice as many time as any other major league team—one more time than they were blanked all of last year.

“We’re just in a funk,” Leyland said. “Can I get them out of the funk? No, I don’t think so. They have to get themselves out of it.”

It was the third time the White Sox have hit two grand slams in one game. The previous time Chicago did it was May 19, 1996, when Darren Lewis and Robin Ventura homered at Detroit. The first time was Sept. 4, 1995, when Ventura hit two grand slams in a game at Texas.

“It was kind of wild,” Konerko said. “You don’t see many grand slams, and especially with the weather. The weather was kind of brutal out there.”

On a cold and windy day, Rogers (0-3) gave up seven runs, seven hits and four walks in four-plus innings. He once again pitched with no run support; the Tigers haven’t scored a run in his three starts this season. Not that he helped much.

“We’re not a very good team right now,” Rogers said. “We’re as bad a team as there is right now in every facet, myself as much as anyone. I’m supposed to be consistent and I was very uncomfortable out there and inconsistent.”

Chicago has started to erase the bad taste from last season with its strong start, and Crede is part of the reason why. The third baseman is hitting .341 with four homers and 15 RBIs, with most of his production coming in the last week. He had to work himself into shape in spring training after missing much of last season with back surgery.

“He’s Joe,” Guillen said. “We’re lucky enough to have Joe back. Last year we missed him a lot. We missed his bat and his glove. You see his RBIs, but he also had RBIs in the field, saving runs with his defense.”

Vazquez (2-1) won his second straight start, scattering five hits in seven innings while striking out nine without a walk.

Trailing 1-0 in the third, Rogers walked Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera reached on an infield single. Jim Thome walked and Konerko took an 0-1 fastball to center for a 405-foot homer, his first grand slam since Aug. 3, 2004, and the seventh of his career.

“It’s a credit to the guys in front of us that were getting on base,” Konerko said. “In my case, Orlando hustled down the line, drawing a bad throw to get on base and then Jimmy has a heck of an at-bat and draws a walk. It’s all those little things where it didn’t look like it was going anywhere and then, bang, grand slam.”

Rogers didn’t make it out of the fifth, getting pulled for Miner after Cabrera’s double and Thome’s bloop single. Konerko struck out, Jermaine Dye hit an RBI double and A.J. Pierzynski was intentionally walked. Thome scored on a wild pitch and Miner walked Carlos Quentin to set up Crede’s sixth grand slam, a 393-foot shot to left.

Crede had hit two grand slams in a season once before.

“High school, senior year,” he said of his days at Fatima High School in Westphalia, Mo. “I can’t recall a time since A-ball that I’ve started out feeling this good, this early.”

Not so for the Tigers. On Thome’s single in the fifth, Cabrera tripped on the third base umpire’s foot and missed a chance for an easy catch.

“That tells you how bad it’s been going for us,” Leyland said. “He stepped on the umpire’s foot and slipped.”

Back in the NBA, Kasib Powell gave the Miami Heat the type of effort they’ve lacked most of the season.

Powell scored a career-high 18 points, leading the Heat to a 95-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night that snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn each added 16 points as five players scored in double figures for the Heat, the day after coach Pat Riley was elected to the Hall of Fame.

“We got in such a habit of playing with talent only and thinking that talent was going to take care of the lack of effort,” Riley said. “These guys are just unadulterated. Effort is a big part of what our culture is.”

It was Powell’s first game back with the Heat after getting recalled from the NBA Development League and signing a contract for the remainder of the season. Powell was the MVP of the D-League.

“I didn’t know how much I was going to play today,” Powell said. “Any time I go out there, I want to be full of energy and bring a boost up.”

Powell also grabbed six rebounds and had three assists in 37 minutes as he returned to the Heat for the first time since scoring 15 points on March 31.

The Bulls fell to 30-47 and were officially eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoffs after making three consecutive appearances.

“We need to become a better defensive team,” Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. “The teams who usually compete for the NBA championship are almost always one of the best defensive teams in the league.”

There were high hopes for the Bulls this season after winning 49 games last season before falling to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“We’ve kind of lost our identity to what got us here,” Hinrich said. “We kind of lost our edge.”

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 25 points, 19 of which came in the first half. Ben Gordon and Joakim Noah each added 16 points.

Chicago was up by 11, its largest lead of the game, in the third quarter. But the Heat fought back to take a 60-59 lead, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Powell and Davis sparking a 12-0 run.

“We started the third quarter like we typically do, we weren’t ready,” Riley said. “We take a timeout and we just kept playing. We played extremely well.”

Miami took a 69-67 lead into the fourth quarter when Joel Anthony tipped in a miss by Quinn at the buzzer to end the third, drawing a smile from Quinn.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Quinn, who has scored in double figures six straight games. “Obviously, we haven’t had as many wins this year as we’d like, so any time you get out there and have success and winning, it’s a lot of fun.”

After Chris Duhon knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Heat lead to 76-73, the Heat went on an 8-0 to put the game out of reach. The Bulls were just 6-of-20 in the fourth quarter.

“They wanted it more and played a lot harder as a team,” Gordon said. “A lot of their guys are playing just to stay in the NBA, so they definitely had a higher level of intensity than we showed.”

A jumper by Davis cut the Bulls’ lead to 36-35 late in the first half, but the Bulls responded with a 9-2 run led by Deng, who scored seven points, including a three-point play.