CHICAGO — Carlos Quentin hit his American League-leading 32nd homer, Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye connected, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5 yesterday.

Nifty relief pitching from Octavio Dotel helped preserve the win for the White Sox, who began the day a half game behind Minnesota in the AL Central. He came in with Chicago clinging to a 6-5 lead with one out in the seventh after Matt Thornton walked Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and J.D. Drew to load the bases.

Dotel got a double-play grounder from Mike Lowell to end the threat and retired the side in the eighth. Bobby Jenks then pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 27 chances.

The Red Sox, who had won six of eight, jumped ahead on Lowell's three-run homer in the first, but the struggling Clay Buchholz (2-8) couldn't hold it. He is 0-6 in his last eight starts and still is searching for his first win since May 2, after a White Sox team that leads the majors in homers rallied behind the long ball.

Dye led off the second with his 27th homer, and Quentin and Thome hit two-run shots in the third to make it 5-3. Gavin Floyd (12-6) got the win even though he struggled at times, allowing five runs and seven hits while striking out six and walking one in 5 1/3 innings. He is 7-1 after White Sox losses.

It was another rough outing for Buchholz, who allowed seven hits, five runs and a season-high three homers while throwing 74 pitches in his shortest outing this season. He left with no outs in the fourth after Juan Uribe reached on an error by Lowell at third and Orlando Cabrera singled, but the White Sox took control in the third.

A.J. Pierzynski delivered a broken-bat single with one out, and Quentin sent the next pitch out to left-center, tying it at 3. After Dye singled, Thome gave the White Sox a 5-3 lead when he drove a hanging breaking ball an estimated 431 feet to right — his second homer in as many games, his 24th this season and his 531st in all.

The White Sox got a run against David Aardsma in the fifth, but the Red Sox answered with two in the sixth to pull within 6-5.

Floyd left with a 6-4 lead after allowing a leadoff triple by J.D. Drew in the fifth and one-out singles by Jason Bay and Sean Casey. Thornton came in and threw a wild pitch on a third strike to Jason Varitek, allowing Bay to score. Alex Cora then struck out to end the threat.