CHICAGO | A large white towel fluttered down from high in the bleachers and landed a few yards from where left fielder Alfonso Soriano was being booed unmercifully by irate Cubs fans.

How symbolic it was of their underachieving team's woeful season. Soriano might as well have picked it up and waved a surrender.

"I overran the ball and I slipped," he said following the Cubs' 5-0 loss on Thursday.

Scott Posednik went 3-for-4 to lead the Sox, who got a seven-inning, five-hitter from rookie Carlos Torres (1-0) in only his third major league start. Alexei Ramirez, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Carlos Quentin each drove in a run.

"Each inning of the game is very big when it comes to Cubs-White Sox. It's a battle and beating them is the closest you can be to the playoffs," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Torres was throwing strikes. He made me look smart by starting him.

"The kid is very smart. He's going to compete every day. He should feel proud. I don't think he knows just how big these games really are."

Afterward, the 26-year-old Torres got an unexpected beer shower from teammates as the Sox won for the fourth time in six Crosstown meetings this season.

"Awesome. What an electric atmosphere to play in," Torres said of Wrigley. "I was able to throw strikes, keep the ball low and got some huge plays with Wise and the defense behind me.

"As a pitcher, you have to be confident and expect to do these kinds of things. Everybody wants to stay out there until the end. Maybe I could, but it wasn't my decision."

The Sox made it 3-0 with a two-run eighth, chasing starter Ryan Dempster (8-8) when Gordon Beckham singled and scored on Pierzynski's routine fly to left that Soriano got all twisted up on and dropped. Konerko then singled home Pierzynski.

At that moment, many in the crowd of 40,741 began chanting "LET'S GO, WHITE SOX! LET'S GO, WHITE SOX!"

Wise made a nice catch of Koyie Hill's tricky fly ball deep in the right field corner in the fifth inning, then later gunned down Jake Fox at home when he tried scoring from second base on Jeff Baker's seventh-inning single with the Sox leading 1-0.

"Seems like every time I put (Wise) out there, he does something special. I wish he'd do something with his bat," Guillen said.

Wise went 0-for-4 and is hitting .193.

"I totally agree with Ozzie. My bat's on ice right now. I've got to get it out of the cold," said Wise, who saved Mark Buehrle's perfect game with his ninth-inning circus catch against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23.

The Cubs had runners at first and third with one out in the fourth after Aramis Ramirez was struck by a pitch and Fox singled. But Soriano fanned, his first of three whiffs, and Baker grounded out to end that threat.

"We had some chances but just didn't get it done. Again," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

13TH ANNUAL CROSSTOWN CLASSIC | SOX LEAD SERIES 37-35

White Sox 5, Cubs 0

Carlos Torres earned his first major league win in his third career start after allowing five hits with six strikeouts.

Up Next: Cubs (Carlos Zambrano 7-6) at Mets (Bobby Parnell 3-7), 6:10 p.m. today.; Red Sox (Paul Byrd 1-0) at White Sox (Freddy Garcia 0-2), 7:11 p.m. today.

TV/Radio: Cubs -- Comcast SportsNet (cable); WGN-AM (720). Sox -- WCIU (Ch. 26); WSCR-AM (670).

More inside

Al Hamnik notes that the Cubs and Sox still think they have outside shots at the postseason. PAGE B6