CHICAGO -- In his first at-bat Monday night, Tyler Flowers of the Chicago White Sox hit a drive that bounced off the top of the wall in right field and back into play. Khris Middleton Jersey . He had to stop at third base with a triple. Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre told Flowers it was too bad he didnt get credit for a home run. "I was like, Im not too worried about it," the catcher said. "Ill probably hit another homer. I dont know if Ill get another triple." Indeed. Flowers homered in his next at-bat, drove in three runs and combined with rookie slugger Jose Abreu, who had two hits and two RBIs, to lead the White Sox to a rain-shortened 5-3 victory over the Rangers. The game was called in the bottom of the seventh inning following a 57-minute delay. Flowers went 3 for 3 to raise his batting average to .252 after it dropped to .213 last month. He scored two runs as the White Sox snapped a two-game losing streak. "Tyler had a great night," Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. "The way hes been swinging the bat and doing things, you feel pretty confident when he goes up there." Abreu, who has 86 RBIs, went 2 for 3 on a day when he named the American Leagues player and rookie of the month for July. Rougned Odor had a two-run homer for Texas, which has lost four straight. Hector Noesi (6-8) bounced back from a rough outing at Detroit in his last start -- six runs in six innings -- to allow one earned run and four hits in seven innings. He was credited with a complete game because the game was called. Texas starter Nick Martinez (1-8) allowed five runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. The rookie has lost his last seven decisions. The White Sox, who trailed 3-0 early, pulled within a run on a two-run single by Abreu in the third inning and tied it in the fifth on a leadoff homer by Flowers. In the sixth, with the rain starting to fall, Dayan Viciedo led off with a single and Conor Gillaspie followed with a double to knock out Martinez. With the infield playing in, right-hander Nate Adcock came on to strike out Gordon Beckham and Alejandro De Aza, but Flowers came through with a two-out single to drive in both runs for a 5-3 Chicago lead. "We were close to getting out of that inning," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We just didnt execute our last pitch and Flowers, who was the star of the game tonight, took advantage of it." The score was 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh when the rain intensified and the game was delayed for the second time. There was a 22-minute delay at the start even though it wasnt raining because of showers in the vicinity. AWARD WINNING Abreu, who batted .374 with six home runs and 19 RBIs in July, is the first rookie to win the player of the month award twice and fourth to be named rookie of the month three times. The Cuban slugger, who entered the game leading the majors in homers and RBIs, was asked if he is surprised by his sudden success. "I dont really like to talk about myself, but I am surprised," he said through a translator. "I wasnt expecting to have all this success, definitely not all these awards." TRAINERS ROOM Rangers: Catcher Geovany Soto (strained groin) is expected to be activated for the series with the Houston Astros starting on Friday. White Sox: De Aza left the game after the sixth inning with a bruised left knee after fouling a pitch off his leg. Right-hander Zach Putnam (shoulder inflammation) is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled when hes eligible to come off on Friday. Putnam has a 3-2 record with three saves and a 2.35 ERA and is one of the few bright spots in the bullpen this season. "Hes throwing tomorrow, so he should be available when his times up," Ventura said. ON DECK Right-hander Colby Lewis (7-8, 5.98) faces left-hander John Danks (9-6, 4.50) in the second game of the three-game set on Tuesday. Ray Allen Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns. http://www.nbabucksproshop.com/Authentic-Brook-Lopez-Bucks-Jersey/ . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week.MIAMI -- For the first time all season, the Miami Heat are alone atop the Eastern Conference. And thats quite a turnaround from how things seemed less than a week ago. LeBron James fought through a sore back to score 32 points, Chris Bosh added 18 and the Heat used another strong defensive effort to beat the Toronto Raptors 93-83 on Monday night. The win pushed the two-time defending NBA champions percentage points ahead of the struggling Indiana Pacers in the race for the No. 1 seed in the East. "It doesnt feel like anything," James said. "The standings are what they are. We want to play the best we can and the fact that we are in first place, I think thats pretty cool but weve got so much work to do. Weve got too much work to do. Weve got guys that need to get healthy. We havent even talked about it. We probably wont talk about it. Weve got to play the season out." Chris Andersen scored 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting and Mario Chalmers added 12 for Miami (51-22), which was again without Dwyane Wade (hamstring), Greg Oden (back) and Ray Allen (flu). Indiana (52-23) lost at home earlier Monday night to San Antonio, 103-77. "The No. 1 seed is the last thing on our minds right now," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said after his teams loss. The Heat -- who were three games out in the East after losing at Indiana on Wednesday -- are basically saying the same thing. Sure, its a neat perk -- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called it an "ancillary" effect of hard work -- and Bosh acknowledged the outcomes Monday merited a very subtle fist-pump from him. But theres still plenty of time for things to change, and Miami is thinking more about getting those who are hurt and sick back into rhythm with the playoffs coming up in less than three weeks. "Were aware of it," Spoelstra said of the standings. "Its not that were naive to it. I didnt talk about it. ... These were pros that were getting ready for battle and its thhat type of focus, thats the type of thing were trying to stress right now, the process of building those habits. Eric Bledsoe Jersey. . The results will follow. They tend to take care of themselves." Greivis Vasquez scored 17 points, DeMar DeRozan scored 16 and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors. Steve Novak added 13 for Toronto, which lost Kyle Lowry to a sore left knee late in the third quarter after he collided with James. "It was a hard-fought game -- basketball at a high level," Vasquez said. "We lost it in the third period. We came out too relaxed. We didnt attack the basket. Everything worked for them." Lowrys knee swelled, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said, and that hardly sounds like good news for a team fighting for the No. 3 spot in the East. "He bumped knees," Casey said. "It puffed up a little bit. X-rays were negative. We just have to wait and see how he is tomorrow." The Heat were down 10 midway through the second quarter, and then closed the half on a 22-9 run to take the lead and never trailed again. Bosh had consecutive baskets in the fourth quarter, the last of them an easy breakaway, to put Miami up by nine. A possession later, after a 3-pointer from Vasquez, James split a pair of defenders on the dribble and found Toney Douglas for a right-wing 3. And after a stop on the ensuing Miami trip, James got a wild layup to fall while getting fouled. Moments later, the Heat could look at the standings and finally see themselves on top. "We could still lose it," Bosh said. "That reality is there. We just have to keep concentrating on what weve been doing." NOTES: Miami has now won 15 straight against the Raptors, the last 14 of those meetings coming since Bosh left Toronto and joined the Heat during the summer of 2010. ... Monday was the start of a five-game homestand for the Heat, who face Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York and Brooklyn. ' ' '