ARLINGTON, Texas -- Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer early and Alexei Ramirez hit one late. In between, Chris Sale strung together five scoreless innings after a shaky first as the White Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 9-5 to take the first game of a six-game road trip.

The Sox (54-45) gained a game in the AL Central standings on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, who both lost. The first-place Sox lead the Tigers by 1 1/2 games.

Youkilis homered against Yu Darvish in the second, his sixth long ball for the Sox. Alejandro De Aza -- who left the game after colliding with Ramirez in the outfield -- singled in two runs.

Leading 6-5 in the ninth, the Sox added three runs on an RBI double by Alex Rios and Ramirez's homer against reliever Alexi Ogando.

Sale (12-3) allowed five runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.