Black Sox Blog

May 31, 1906 at Bennett Park

Tigers 4, White Sox 2  (15-18)

The White Sox finished the month in about the worst possible way.  They were swept by the Tigers in a doubleheader.  In the first game, the White Sox managed to outhit the Tigers 6-5, but the Tigers scored twice as many runs.

Frank Isbell scored both White Sox runs and had a single and a triple.  Ed Walsh’s rough inning was the third, when the Tigers tagged him for three runs.

May 31, 1906 at Bennett Park

Tigers 6, White Sox 4  (15-19)

In game two of the doubleheader, the Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the White Sox rallied and tied the game up in the seventh.  Unfortunately the Tigers took the lead in the bottom half of the inning and scored two runs and added an insurance run in the eighth.

Billy Sullivan homered in the ninth inning and singled in the seventh.  He scored two of the White Sox four runs.  George Rohe had two hits and Tip O’Neill singled twice and scored a run.

Fielder Jones used three pitchers.  Frank Smith started and only lasted 2 2/3 innings.  Roy Patterson took over and threw 3 1/3 and then Nick Altrock closed out the game by throwing the final two innings.

May 30, 1906 at Bennett Park

White Sox 4, Tigers 1  (15-17)

Doc White held the Tigers to a single run on seven hits as the White Sox ended a two game skid.  Ed Hahn had two hits, two stolen bases and one of the four White Sox runs.  The White Sox scored three of their runs in the fourth inning to break the game open.

Probably the oddest part of this box score was on the Tigers side of the box score.  In the eighth inning, Fred Payne pinch hit for Ty Cobb (keep in mind this was his first full season).  That probably didn’t happen too often.

It’s amazing how one season can spoil you.  Now, I just expect the White Sox to win, and while the Blue Jays are much improved, they’re not what I’d consider a road block.  Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the Jays proved to be.

On Friday, Paul Konerko homered twice, but that was all of the White Sox offense in the 8-2 loss.  Freddy Garcia had his first really bad loss since the first week of the season and he dropped to 7-2.  He gave up five runs on twelve hits in 5 1/3 innings.  Garcia gave up three long balls and Cliff Politte gave up the other three runs in relief.

On Saturday, the game was a lot closer but the end result was the same.  The Jays and White Sox traded runs in the second, then the Jays broke the tie with a run in the eighth.  Juan Uribe tied the game up with an RBI single in the top of the ninth and that sent things into extra frames.  Then two innings later, Shea Hillenbrand ended it with a walk off solo homerun off of Jeff Nelson, who had just been called up earlier in the week.

The White Sox finally ended their skid with a win yesterday.  The White Sox scored six early runs and took a 6-1 lead, but the Jays got as close as 6-5 before the Sox scored an insurance run in the eighth.  Jon Garland picked up the win and improved to 4-2 and Bobby Jenks saved his fourteenth game.  Jermaine Dye homered and had three hits and Scot Podsednik had two hits and two runs.

The White Sox now play four in Cleveland, and not to get ahead of ourselves, it’d be nice if the White Sox could bury the Indians since they’ll probably be in the playoff mix come September.  Thankfully we took care of business today and squashed them, but we still have three more to play.

May 26, 1906 at Huntington Avenue Grounds

Pilgrims 4, White Sox 2  (14-17)

It was another poor performance at the plate as the White Sox lost for the fourth time in five games.  The White Sox scored both of their runs with two outs in the ninth and it was too little and too late.

Ed Hahn had three hits and Fielder Jones and Frank Isbell scored the two runs for the Sox.  Both Jones and Isbell had two hits a piece.  Frank Owen threw a complete game and he gave up four runs on nine hits with a single strikeout.

May 25, 1906 at Huntington Avenue Grounds

Pilgrims 3, White Sox 0  (14-16)

Boston Pilgrims starter Jesse Tannehill held the White Sox to a mere two hits in a masterful performance.  He struck out six White Sox and walked one.  Tip O’Neill and Frank Isbell had the only two hits, and George Davis left the team to nurse a sore arm.

Doc White threw a nice game but he would have needed to be perfect to pick up the win.  He gave up three runs on four hits and a single walk and he struck out two.

Frank Thomas made his return to Chicago this week, and in the series opener, he definitely made an impact.  The good news is, he didn’t make THAT much of an impact that we lost the game.

For most of the game, the White Sox were down 4-1.  Then just like last year, they stormed back and scored three in the eighth to tie the game up.  Jermaine Dye and Brian Anderson both homered to account for the three runs.  Then in the bottom of the tenth, A.J. Pierzynski scored on Pablo Ozuna’s squeeze attempt.  Jon Garland had a decent enough start to keep us in the game and Bobby Jenks improved to 2-0 with two shutout innings to close the game out.

On Tuesday, we jumped all over Kirk Saarlos and by the end of two innings, we had a 5-0 lead.  The White Sox kept running up the score from there, and by the end of the game, it was 9-3.  Javier Vazquez improved to 5-3 and he gave up three runs on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts.  Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye hit their twelth homerun of the season and Jim Thome hit his 18th.  Thome finished the game with three runs.

Yesterday was another close one, but Mark Buehrle got the job done.  He gave up one unearned run on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts in seven innings, and he’s now 6-2 on the season.  Jenks picked up his thirteenth save of the season.  On the hitting side, nobody was brilliant because the Sox were held to six hits but Rob Mackowiak’s RBI single in the sixth ended up being the difference.

The Tigers are finishing up their series in Kansas City while we travel to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays in a three game series.  It’s looking more and more like the Tigers are for real so we need as many wins as we can get.

May 24, 1906 at Huntington Avenue Grounds

White Sox 7, Pilgrims 5  (14-15)

The White Sox scored four runs off of Pilgrim’s starter Cy Young in the first inning and never looked back as they snapped a two game losing streak.  The Pilgrims tried to come back in both the seventh and eighth innings, but both times the rally came up short.

Frank Isbell had three hits and scored two runs.  Leadoff hitter Bill O’Neill scored two runs and Billy Sullivan had three hits.

May 23, 1906 at Hilltop Park

Highlanders 4, White Sox 1  (13-15)

The White Sox had another pathetic offensive performance as they scattered six hits against two different Highlander pitchers.  Ed Hahn scored the lone run for the White Sox.

Roy Patterson lasted only four innings and he gave up all four runs.  Ed Walsh threw five shutout innings of relief, but it wasn’t enough to get the White Sox back into the game.

May 22, 1906 at Hilltop Park

Highlanders 8, White Sox 2  (13-14)

The White Sox five game winning streak came to an end as they were blasted by the Highlanders.  Frank Smith gave up eight runs on thirteen hits in the loss.

Frank Isbell had two hits and a run and Ed Hahn scored the other White Sox run.  Smith had two singles.

May 21, 1906 at Hilltop Park

White Sox 7, Highlanders 6  (13-13)

The White Sox made it five straight wins to even up their record with a win over the New York Highlanders.  The White Sox managed only seven hits but they drew five walks and they made most of their baserunners count.

Jiggs Donohue scored two runs and Doc White helped out his own cause by scoring two as well.  Fielder Jones and Tip O’Neill both had two hits.  White picked up the win after he gave up six runs through seven innings.  Frank Owen was perfect in two innings of work to finish out the game.

Well, we couldn’t quite get the sweep.  Needless to say, taking two of three was nice, and it was particularly pleasing to see the White Sox hammer the Cubs after Michael Barrett’s cheap shot in Saturday’s game.

On Friday, it was a typical Mark Buehrle start.  The game barely lasted an hour and Buehrle gave up only one unearned run in the complete game.  Jim Thome hit his seventeenth homerun and Paul Konerko drove in three runs.

Saturday was the Fox Game of the Week, at least around here.  And boy was it entertaining.  Everyone knows by now about the whole Michael Barrett/A.J. Pierzynski fight so I won’t touch on it too much.  Needless to say, Tad Iguchi had a career day.  He homered twice and drove in six of the White Sox seven runs.  Freddy Garcia had a great outing.  He threw eight shutout innings and gave up eight hits.

Today’s game was the downer.  The White Sox took a 4-2 lead into the eighth inning when the Cubs scored four times.  Neal Cotts and Jose Conteras gave up a combined three homeruns and Cotts took the loss.  Paul Konerko went deep twice with two solo shots and A.J. Pierzynski hit a solo homerun in the 7-4 loss.

The Oakland A’s come to town for a three game series beginning tomorrow.  The Tigers won two of three this weekend as well, so they remain a game up in the division.  Should make for a good series when we go head to in early June.

I just got done watching the brawl and things are calming down.  What a cheap shot by Michael Barrett, although I am curious as to what A.J. might have said to Barrett.  Not sure if the slapping home plate was a big deal.  He wanted to make sure he was touching home plate.

May 19, 1906 at American League Park 

White Sox 3, Senators 1  (12-13)

After losing five straight games, the White Sox came to Washington and swept the Senators with four straigh wins.  Roy Patterson threw a gem as he gave up a single run on five hits.

Jiggs Donahue had a big game.  He had four hits and scored two of the White Sox three runs.  Three of those hits were doubles.

May 18, 1906 at American League Park

White Sox 10, Senators 0  (11-13)

The White Sox ran up the score on the Senators and won their third straight game.  Ten runs was the most by far they had scored all season, topping the previous high of seven on April 22, 1906.

Lost in the offensive onslaught was a six hit shutout by Frank Owen.  He struck out three and didn’t walk anyone.

Fielder Jones led the way with four hits (a single, two doubles and a triple) and three runs.  George Davis scored twice and Bill O’Neill, Billy Sullivan and Frank Isbell all had two hits and a run.

May 17, 1906 at American League Park 

White Sox 6, Senators 2  (10-13)

The White Sox made it two in a row over the Senators and this time it was without the drama.  The Sox were actually down 2-0 until the sixth when they tied the game up.  Then in the eighth, they blew the game open with four runs.

George Davis, Frank Isbell and Lee Tannehill all had three hits.  Davis and Jiggs Donahue scored two runs a piece.  Roy Patterson picked up the win and gave up two runs on only two hits and two walks with one strikeout.

May 16, 1906 at American League Park

White Sox 6, Senators 5  (9-13)

The White Sox ended a five game losing streak as they held off the Washington Senators in extra innings.  The White Sox jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but the Senators tied the game with two runs in the eighth.

In the top of the tenth, Tip O’Neill made the first out, but then Frank Isbell singled.  George Davis doubled to put runners at second and third, and then Jiggs Donahue hit a comebacker to Senators starter Tom Hughes.  Hughes knocked it down and when he tried to gun down Isbell at the plate, he threw the ball into the stands.  Davis scored on the errant throw and then Ed Hahn’s single drove home Donahue.

The Senators scored two runs off starter Frank Smith, but Fielder Jones put in reliever Roy Patterson and he got the final two outs of the game to end it.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Twins were our arch-rivals.  They cost us the division on a few occasions the past few years, but we made up for it all last year.  This year the Twins have really struggled, at least up until recently.  Unfortunately we caught them when they were playing well and we ended up splitting the four game series we had with them.

We ran into Johan Santana on Friday.  He struck out ten and the only run we got on him was when Paul Konerko hit a solo shot.  While he was mowing us down, Jon Garland continued to struggle.  He gave up seven runs on eleven hits in 5 1/3 innings and he’s now 2-2.  Boone Logan also got touched up for two runs in the 10-1 loss.

Things didn’t go much better on Saturday.  Javier Vazquez was cruising along until the Twins scored five on him in the fifth inning.  He gave up two more in the sixth and that was all the Twins needed.  Scot Podsednik had two hits and two runs and A.J. Pierzynski had three hits in the 8-4 loss.

The White Sox got back on track yesterday with a come from behind win.  Mark Buehrle was pummelled for seven runs in the first inning, but he sucked it up and continued on.  In the meantime, the White Sox scored a single run in the third and five in the fourth to give the White Sox a 9-7 lead.  Neither team scored from then on, and Buehrle got a win to go with his first inning beating.  Podesdnik went three for five with two RBIs and two runs.  Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and Pierzynski all homered for the Sox and Dye drove in three runs.

Today we finally got some good pitching.  Freddy Garcia improved to 6-1 and he gave up three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.  Joe Crede had a big day.  He went three for four with two RBIs, two runs and his eighth homerun.  Both Chris Widger and Podsednik hit their first homeruns of the season and Rob Mackowiak had three hits in the 7-3 win.

The Tigers have been on a tear and they now sit just a game back.  The White Sox get a reprieve though.  They head to Tampa for a three game series before their three game set against the Cubs.  Hopefully the Twins can bounce back and take a couple of games from the Tigers this week so we can get our cushion back after taking care of the Devil Rays.

May 15, 1906 at Columbia Park 

Athletics 1, White Sox 0  (8-13)

The White Sox lost a pitchers dual and dropped to five games below .500 for the first time this season.  Nick Altrock gave up a single run on five hits, but that was good enough as the Sox were shutout on only five hits.

Tip O’Neill had two of the White Sox five hits as did catcher Billy Sullivan.  Jiggs Donahue was the only other White Sox to reach base without being given an intentional pass.  The loss put the White Sox in seventh place, seven games behind the first place Athletics.

May 12, 1906 at Columbia Park

Athletics 4, White Sox 0  (8-12)

The White Sox once again struggled to put men on base much less score as they dropped their fourth straight game.  The White Sox only managed five hits as Athletics ace Rube Waddell shut down them down the entire time.

Frank Owen threw a decent game but still took the loss.  He gave up four runs on seven hits.

What a strange two game series.  Game three versus the Angels was rained out, and then games one and two were blowouts, with each team getting a win.  The Tigers and Indians have both been struggling though, so our cushion keeps growing.

On Tuesday, it was the White Sox who beat down the Angels.  A six run third inning did the trick and Freddy Garcia had a really nice start to go with the run support.  He gave up one run on five hits with six strikeouts in eight innings.  Jim Thome was the man again.  He hit his fourteenth homerun and drove in four runs.  Joe Crede also had a nice game and he hit his seventh homerun.  Jermaine Dye also went yard in the game and Scott Podsednik scored three runs and walked four times.

Yesterday’s game didn’t go quite as well.  The Angels jumped out to a 6-0 and put rookie Charlie Haeger out of the game after only 4 1/3 innings.  The White Sox then creeped back into the game and scored five unanswered runs, three of which came on a Brian Anderson homerun.  So the score was 6-5 heading into the ninth when the wheels fell of the wagon.  Brandon McCarthy, Bobby Jenks and Matt Thornton all gave up a pair of runs and the Angels opened the game up with six runs in the top of the ninth inning.

It sounds like Brandon McCarthy is going to get the nod when Contreras’ spot in the rotation comes up.  I’m not sure if Charlie Haeger is being sent back down or whether the knuckleballer will be used out of the pen.

So now the White Sox get an unplanned day off before they travel to Minnesota for a three game series. The best that we can hope for is a Tigers’ loss, and then we’ll head into the weekend with a three game lead in the Central.

May 10, 1906 at League Park

Naps 15, White Sox 1  (8-11)

The White Sox suffered their most lopsided defeat of the season and in the process, lost their third game in a row.  Both Ed Walsh and Frank Smith were shelled to the tune of fifteen runs on seventeen hits.

Frank Isbell had two hits and scored the only run of the game for the White Sox. 

May 9. 1906 at South Side Park

Browns 6, White Sox 2  (8-10)

The White Sox made three errors in the sixth inning that resulted in four runs that cost them the game.  Nick Altrock took the loss and gave up six runs on ten hits and struck out five.

George Davis scored both White Sox runs despite not getting a hit.  Frank Isbell was two for three with a double.

I guess you can’t win them all, even against the truly horrible teams.  The White Sox took two of their three games against the hapless Royals this weekend.  Even better, the Tigers lost two of three to the almost as hapless Twins so the White Sox now have a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL Central.

On Friday night, the series didn’t get off to a good start.  The Sox had a 2-1 heading into the top of the ninth when the Royals jumped all over Bobby Jenks, who blew his first save of the season.  The White Sox tried to mount a come back in the bottom of the ninth, but they were a run short.  Jon Garland had a solid start go to waste (one run, seven hits in seven innings).  Jim Thome hit his 12th homerun of the season and Joe Crede went two for four with a solo homerun.

The White Sox got back on track yesterday and they got it all.  Javier Vazquez was very sharp and improved to 4-1.  The offense put nine runs on the board.  Jim Thome hit homerun number 13 and Brian Anderson hit his third.  Tad Iguchi had a great game.  He went four for five with three runs.

Today’s game was a nail biter.  Both teams scored two runs in the fifth and that 2-2 score stood until the bottom of the eighth.  Then Joe Crede came up huge with an RBI single to put the White Sox in front.  Pablo Ozuna drove in the two fifth inning runs with a triple.  Mark Buehrle was sharp through six innings.  He gave up two runs on seven hits.  Brandon McCarthy picked up the win and Bobby Jenks saved his tenth game of the season.

The Angels come into town Tuesday for a three game set and they’ve continued to struggle.  As it stands, the White Sox have 22 wins, and that’s more then any other team in baseball right now.

May 7, 1906 at South Side Park

Browns 10, White Sox 0  (8-9)

Frank Owen had his second straight tough start as the Browns ran up the score on the White Sox.  Lou Fienne made his White Sox debut in relief of Owen but he didn’t fare much better.  By the end of the fourth inning, the Sox were down by ten runs and the game was the most lopsided loss of the season for the Sox.

George Davis had two of the White Sox six hits but outside of that, there wasn’t much good to say about the Sox hitting this game.

May 6, 1906 at South Side Park 

White Sox 6, Naps 0  (8-8)

Ed Walsh was nearly perfect as the White Sox improved to an even 8-8 on the season. He walked Bill Bradley in the first inning, then rolled through the Naps lineup until the ninth inning when Harry Bemis singled to lead off the inning.  Walsh finshed the game with a one hitter

Frank Isbell had a great game at the plate.  He had two singles, a double and he scored two of the White Sox’ six runs.

May 5, 1906 at League Park

White Sox 3, Naps 3  (7-8)

The White Sox made five errors but somehow escaped this game with a tie after the game was called due to darkness after twelve innings.

Tip O’Neill hit the very first pitch of the game into the bleachers to give the White Sox a quick 1-0 lead.  They scored single runs in the second and fifth, but the Naps finally got on the board in the fifth and then tied the game with two runs in the sixth.

Nick Altrock and Frank Smith combined to hold the Naps to eight hits through 12 innings.  Fielder Jones had three hits including a triple and scored.  O’Neill and Frank Isbell both had two hits and a run.

Since I last wrote, the White Sox have won three of four.  They split their two game series with the Indians and swept their two game set against the Mariners.  The White Sox continue to take care of business and this afternoon they won their 20th game.  With a 20-8 record, they’re only one game off of the torrid pace they were winning games at last year.

On Monday, the White Sox jumped all over the Indians.  They scored seven unanswered runs by the sixth inning, but the Indians finally woke up and scored one in the bottom of the sixth and four in the seventh.  The Indians never pulled any closer in the 8-6 loss.  Scott Podsednik went four for five with three runs and four stolen bases.  Paul Konerko hit a three run homer in the top of the first to start things off for the Sox.  Javier Vazquez was very good through six innings (one unearned runs and five hits with seven strikeouts), but the pen was hit hard.  Brandon McCarthy gave up four runs and only got one batter out.  Bobby Jenks pitched a shutout ninth though, and he picked up his eighth save of the season.

Tuesday was the loss, and man was it bad.  C.C. Sabathia came off of the disabled list and shut the Sox down.  Chicago did manage eleven hits, but they stranded fourteen base runners in the 7-1 loss.  Joe Crede continued to hit the ball extremely well and he went three for five with the only RBI of the game for the Sox.  Mark Buehrle was shelled to the tune of seven runs on thirteen hits.  Boone Logan was very sharp in mopup work though.  He threw 2 1/3 no hit innings and struck out five.

Yesterday was more Joe Crede.  He hit a grand slam in the seventh to bust the game open.  Unfortunately the Mariners answered with four in the eighth to take the lead back.  Then Pablo Ozuna came through in a huge way.  He hit a solo homerun with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra frames.  He then doubled in the eleventh and scored the winning run on Juan Uribe’s single.  Bobby Jenks picked up his first win of the season with 1 1/3 shutout innings.

This afternoon, Jose Contreras shut down the Mariners in a 4-1 White Sox win.  He gave up one run on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.  Jenks finished things up in the ninth and earned his ninth save of the season.  On the hitting side, Jim Thome did most of the damage in the first inning with a three run shot.

Kansas City is on tap this weekend so I expect more of the same for the Braves.  The Tigers are still holding on to a game and a half deficit, and they finally lost after winning six straight.  The Indians, on the other hand, have hit the skids are now just a game above .500.  It’s still early though, so the Sox still need to keep on winning.

May 3, 1906 at Bennett Park 

Tigers 9, White Sox 2  (7-8)

The White suffered a triple whammy.  Nick Altrock was shelled by the Tigers, the White Sox lost their third straight game, and the Sox slipped below the .500 mark.

The White Sox scattered six hits and scored twice.  Frank Isbell and George Rohe scored the only two runs for the Sox.  Lee Tannehill made his season debut and singled.

May 2, 1906 at Bennet Park

Tigers 5, White Sox 2  (7-7)

Frank Owen was hit hard in the first inning and gave up three runs as the White Sox dropped back to .500.  The White Sox matched the Tigers in hits, but they only managed to get two runners across the entire game.

Owen gave up five runs on nine hits and two walks with one strikeout.  Jiggs Donahue had a big game at the plate.  He had a double, two singles and he scored one of the White Sox two runs.  Oddly, Tigers starter Bill Donavon yielded only three walks the entire game, and all three were to White Sox starter Owen.

Both teams had a hard time fielding the ball.  Both the Tigers and the White Sox made three errors a piece.

Man, the White Sox keep on rolling.  The only thing that’s making it bitter sweet is the Tigers, of all teams, are just keeping up with us.  As it stands though, the White Sox have the best record in baseball, and you can’t argue too much with that.

Freddy Garcia got the job done on Friday.  He gave up three runs on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts in six innings.  He’s now 4-1 on the season, despite having a 5.86 ERA.  Jermaine Dye hit his sixth homerun of the season and he drove in two runs.  Scott Podsednik and Tad Iguchi both drove in a pair and Paul Konerko and Dye both scored twice.

Saturday’s game was the nailbiter.  The White Sox scored in the fourth on Dye’s RBI single and then again in the sixth on Jim Thome’s solo homerun, his tenth of the year.  The Angels touched up Jose Contreras for a run in the sixth, but that was all they’d get.  Contreras went 8 1/3 and gave up one run on five hits with four strikeouts.  He’s now a perfect 4-0.  Thornton and Bobby Jenks each came in and got one batter out.  Jenks picked up his seventh save of the season.

Yesterday the White Sox needed some late inning theatrics to get the job done.  WIth the game tied at 5-5, Pablo Ozuna scored on a wild pitch to give the Sox the go ahead run.  Joe Crede went three for three with two runs  and Chris Widger had two hits and two RBIs.  Jon Garland was shaky again.  He gave up five runs on five hits in seven innings.  Cliff Politte picked up the win and Neal Cotts pitched a perfect ninth to earn his first save of the season.

The White Sox are now 17-7.  They’re a game and a half ahead of the Tigers and four and a half ahead of the Indians.  The White Sox head to Cleveland for a two game series to finish up their road trip, so hopefully they’ll be able to keep rolling along.