Belle's Homer Stiffles Mariners

May 15, 1998 / 11:53 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The way Greg Norton's hitting, he won't have to worry about sitting on the White Sox bench.

Norton continued his batting surge with a double and single, and Albert Belle hit a three-run homer Friday night as the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3.

"Jerry's given me the nod the last couple of days and I'm trying to contribute," Norton said. "It feels pretty good out there. We'll see how it goes."

After not starting since April 22, when first baseman Wil Cordero was called up from Double-A Birmingham, Norton started three times this week. He's responded with three homers, including two Thursday off Seattle ace Randy Johnson.

As long as Norton keeps hitting, manager Jerry Manuel said he'll keep playing.

"He's swinging the bat real well now," Manuel said. "It's good to ride a guy when he's hot."

And Norton isn't the only one. Jaime Navarro (4-3) allowed seven hits over 7 1-3 innings to win his third straight decision. Keith Foulke relieved Navarro after he walked two in the eighth and retired the side. He pitched the ninth for his first save of the season.

"(Catcher Charlie O'Brien) said, `Your stuff is too good, just keep throwing it. Just follow me, you're going to be OK,"' Navarro said. "Hey, when you have that confidence out of your catcher, you'll take it any time."

It was Navarro's first win over the Mariners in nearly five years. His last victory over Seattle came June 1, 1993, when Navarro was with the Milwaukee Brewers.

"Whoo! That's a long time," he said, smiling. "It feels good."

About the only thing that didn't feel good was the stiff wind that blew during the entire game, littering the infield with debris. Though there were times he felt "like a big trailer moving on the highway," Navarro said it didn't affect his pitching.

Mariners starter Bill Swift (2-3) wasn't nearly as fortunate. In the first inning, Chris Snopek singled with one out and Frank Thomas reached first on Russ Davis' error. That brought up Belle, who hit his ninth homer of the season to give the White Sox a 3-0 lead.

"You hate to blame the wind. If it's blowing in my face it's great. But from my right side you lose the spin going down," Swift said. "Tonight it was blowing hard. It was straightening the pitches right out. The one to Belle went right down the middle."

Chicago added two more runs in the second. Norton singled, Charlie O'Brien doubled and Swift hit Mike Caruso with a pitch to load the bases. Norton scored on Mike Cameron's fielder's choice, and O'Brien scored on Swift's wild pickoff attempt to make it 5-0.

Swift was trying to get Mike Cameron out at first, but the pitch hit the sliding Cameron in the head and knocked his helmet off

Cameron rolled around on the ground and still looked dazed when he finally sat up. He remained on base, and Swift drew boos when he unsuccessfully tried to pick Cameron off again two pitches later.

Norton doubled, moved to third on an infield out and then scored on Mike Caruso's single in the fourth.

Seattle cut the lead to 6-3 in the seventh on a two-run homer by Jeff Huson. Alex Rodriguez drove in the Mariners' other run in the fourth.

Notes: X-rays were negative on Seattle first baseman David Segui, who fouled a ball off his foot during Thursday's game. Segui did not play Friday. ... Huson's two-run homer in the seventh was his first since Sept. 23, 1995, when he was with the Orioles. ... Norton is only the fifth player to hit two homers in one game off Johnson. ... Chicago second baseman Ray Durham, who left Thursday's game after being hit by a Johnson pitch, got the night off Friday.