Black Sox Blog

In the first game of a two game trip to Minnesota, the Twins beat the Sox 3-1 behind stellar pitching by Boof Bonser.  Bonser went seven innings and gave up six hits while striking out eight White Sox batters.  Gavin Floyd pitched well for the Sox but it wasn’t enough to out duel Bonser.  Floyd pitched for six innings giving up five hits and three earned runs.  A.J. Pierzynski and Orlando Cabrera led the Sox with two hits each and Joe Crede had a solo home run for the only score of the game for the Sox.  Crede’s home run was his seventh of the season and he now leads the AL in that category thus far in the year.  The inconsistency of the Sox offense has led to much more losses for the team from the south side.  They entered the game with an AL worst batting average of .242 but the South Side Sluggers have a league best 34 home runs.  If the Sox can gain some consistency on offense, they will be a team to be reckoned with in the AL central.

Despite batting a dismal .197 on the year with only three home runs, Paul Konerko hit two home runs and led the Sox to a 6-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the third of a four game series.  Konerko hit a lead off home run in the second and the sixth innings to jump start the team and give them the momentum they need to get their bats rolling.  Carlos Quentin added two hits for the squad and Nick Swisher connected on a double.  Overall the Sox offense only had seven hits compared with seven strike outs but Jose Contreras pitched a good enough game for the Sox to come out victorious.  Contreras went six and two-thirds and gave up five hits, one earned run, three walks and three strike outs.  The bullpen also pitched great not giving up a single hit or walk.  No matter how productive the Sox line-up is, a solid pitching performance by the entire pitching staff today will keep the South Side Sluggers in a position to win night in and night out.  The two teams conclude their four game series tomorrow with Javier Vazquez facing off against Daniel Cabrera.

After a rain out on Friday, the White Sox could not find any offense against the Baltimore Orioles in the first of two games on the day.  The Orioles won the first game 5-1 behind the eight shut out innings by starting pitcher Brian Burres.  John Danks pitched first for the Sox and went six and one-third innings giving up four hits, two earned runs, no walks and four strike outs.  The Sox offense only produced five hits on the day along with four strike outs.  A great performance by Burres outshined Danks as the Orioles started the day out well.  Game 2 was a different story.  In the bottom of the ninth inning, Brian Anderson drove in the winning run on a single to center with the bases loaded.  The two RBI’s that Anderson had on the night were his first of the season.  Mark Buehrle started in Game 2 and pitched sixth innings while the Oriole offense managed six hits, three earned runs and struck out five times.  The split on the day put the Sox record at 13-10 and keeps them at the top of the AL Central with a 1.5 game lead over the Indians.  Jose Contreras will start the game tomorrow against the Orioles.

All tied up in the bottom of the ninth, facing one of the most talked about pitchers yet to suffer a big league defeat Carlos Quentin and Joe Crede came through.  With one out Quentin doubled off of Joba Chamberlain and then Crede lined a single to left-center to score Quentin and end the game.  A big win against a good team which helped avoid being swept in the series.  Paul Konerko led the way for the Sox with two hits and Jim Thome hit his sixth home run of the season.  Gavin Floyd started the game and pitched well against a powerful Yankee lineup.  Floyd went six innings and gave up five hits, five earned runs, four walks and four strike outs.  Bobby Jenks got his first win of the season with only two-thirds an inning of work.  Jermaine Dye left the game after six innings with a strained left groin and will not be available for Friday’s game.  The 12-9 White Sox start a four game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday with Mark Buehrle taking the mound in game one.

A fresh Jorge Posada who has been resting a sore arm on and off for the past two weeks fueled the Yankees past the Sox by a score of 6-4.  Posada picked up the slack of not having A-Rod due to the birth of his daughter, by going four for five with a career high three doubles as well as two RBI’s.  A night after not getting a hit, Jim Thome had two along with Orlando Cabrera which combined they made up four of the six hits the Sox had in the game.  The other two hits were by Joe Crede and Carlos Quentin, which were both solo home runs.  However, it was not enough to get past the Yankees and Mike Mussina.  Javier Vazquez had a rough started going five and one-third innings giving up ten hits and five earned runs.  Mussina earned his 252nd career win on seven solid innings pitched.  Gavin Floyd takes on Phil Hughes tomorrow in the final game of the series with the Yankees, hopefully the Sox can avoid being swept by the Bronx Bombers.

A trio of home runs by the New York Yankees boosted them to a 9-5 win over the White Sox in a game in which the Sox offense was productive on all fronts.  Eight out of the nine batters tallied a hit in the game including five of the players having at least two hits in the game.  A.J. Pierzynski hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth but his spark failed to start a rally for the South Side Sluggers.  Jose Contreras started the game for the Sox and went six and one-third innings giving up seven hits and four earned runs.  Bobby Abreu had a grand slam in the seventh inning and Johnny Damon had a three run shot in the eighth inning along with Jason Giambi’s solo shot in the second inning.  The three home runs proved to be the difference for the A-Rod-less Yankees as they helped to give Chien-Ming Wang his fourth win of the season.  Contreras’ record fell to 1-2.  Javier Vazquez takes the mound tomorrow against Mike Mussina in the second game of the three game series between the Sox and Yankees.

A day after being shut out themselves to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Sox followed up their loss with a 6-0 win in Tampa to not only win the game but the series.  Jim Thome helped out the Sox offense by hitting his 512th home run and continues to make his mark on history.  Thome is now tied for 19th on the all-time home run list with Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews.  Thome also had four hits in the game and A.J. Pierzynski and Jermaine Dye did their part with two hits a piece.  John Danks pitched a stellar game by pitching seven shut out innings and only gave up three hits, no walks and struck out eight.  Danks’ performance today proved that he can be a dominant pitcher in this league and consistency of pitching like tonight could help the Sox make a push for the division title.  Chicago has a day off tomorrow before returning home for a three game series against the Yankees.  Jose Contreras will face Chien-Ming Wang in the game on Tuesday.

In the first game of a three game series, the Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2.  Javier Vazquez won his third game in a row and got a lot of help behind a big offensive jolt by the Sox hitters.  Vazquez went six and one-third innings giving up six hits and two earned runs.  Jim Thome hit a bomb home run with three RBI’s and two walks on the day.  Pablo Ozuna and Juan Uribe both hit safely twice to help the Sox put up some runs to take some pressure off of Vazquez as he pitched a great game against the Rays.  Mark Buehlre gets the start tomorrow in the second game of the series as he looks for his second win of the season.  The highlight of the game tonight was in the third inning after Thome hit a three run shot to make it 3-0, the next batter Paul Konerko hit a solo shot for back to back home runs to really jump start the offense for the team.

After a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, the Sox let the Orioles even the series up in a 6-5 loss in which the Orioles rallied in the ninth against Bobby Jenks to push it into extra innings.  In the bottom of the tenth inning Adam Jones hit a single that scored the winning run.  Gavin Floyd started the game for the Sox and pitched a solid six innings and only gave up two hits and two earned runs even though they were both unearned due to Sox fielding errors.  Carlos Quentin hit two home runs and Joe Crede chipped in one of his own.  However, the errors and rally in the ninth proved to be enough to give the Orioles a fighting chance that they cashed in on and stole a win.  This blown save was the first in eight attempts by Danks on the season.  With this loss the Sox record falls to 9-6 but they are still atop the AL central along with the Kansas City Royals.  The South Side Sluggers travel to Tampa Bay tomorrow for a three game series.

On Tuesday the White Sox were without Jim Thome who was serving a 1 game suspension for “inappropriate behavior” during an argument with an umpire against Detroit which eventually got Thome thrown out of the game.  Even without their big slugger, the Sox still beat the Oakland A’s 4-1 behind a great pitching performance by John Danks on his 23rd birthday.  Danks pitched seven and two-thirds shutout innings and only gave up five hits and struck out four.  Despite only five hits in the game, the Sox put up four runs behind Carlos Quentin’s three-run homer in the fourth inning.  Joe Crede also tacked on an insurance run in the fifth with a two-out RBI single that put them up four to zero at the time.  Bobby Jenks came in and was lights out to assure the win for the Sox and acquire his fifth save of the season.  The Sox travel to Baltimore tomorrow for a two game series before heading out to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays.

In a game that featured eighteen hits compared with fourteen strike outs for the two teams combined, one run was the difference after a stellar performance by both starting pitchers.  Mark Buehrle got the start for the Sox and pitched seven good innings giving up nine hits, two earned runs, one walk, and four strike outs.  A performance like that would normally be enough to help his team win the game, but A’s starter Greg Smith pitched a great game and earned his first win as a big leaguer.  Smith went seven innings giving up six hits, one earned run, one walk and four strike outs.  He also picked off Jermaine Dye and Nick Swisher when they were leaning a little too much while on first base.  Swisher, Cabrera, Dye, and Pierzynski all had two hits in the game but were the only Sox to tally a hit.  Hopefully all of the Sox hitters can get on track and even up the series before they head out for a road trip.  John Danks is scheduled to start tomorrow as the Sox take on the A’s one more time in Chicago before they head out to Baltimore.

A night after not allowing a run to the Tigers while scoring seven of their own in a blow out win, the White Sox backed up that performance with an even better one.  Not only did the Sox shut out the Tigers again, but they put up eleven runs in another great offensive performance.  Joe Crede and Paul Konerko both had a grand slam to help make the season a little more miserable for the struggling team from Motown.  Orlando Cabrera and Nick Swisher each chipped in two hits for the Sox and each scored two runs.  Javier Vazquez started the game for the Sox and pitched very well.  Vazquez lasted seven innings and gave up five hits, no earned runs, and struck out nine.  On the other side of the mound, Kenny Rogers had a terrible game going four innings and giving up seven hits and seven earned runs.  The White Sox pitching staff has now not allowed a run in twenty straight innings.  If the Sox pitchers can stay consistent along with their offense still putting up big numbers, the South Side Sluggers have a good chance of being near the top of the division throughout the season.

After sweeping the Tigers in Detroit in their first series of the season, the White Sox lost to Detroit 5-2 in the first game of the series in Chicago.  The stat of the day had to be that the Sox offense only tallied four runs compared with ten strike outs.  Even though Tiger starter Dontrelle Willis went down early with a hurt knee, their bullpen came in and pitched well against the struggling Chicago offense.  Jose Contreras started the game for the Sox and went six and two-thirds innings giving up six hits and four earned runs.  Not a bad day but when your offense only puts two runs on the board an outing like that will not win many games.  Carlos Quentin led the way for the Sox with one hit, a run scored, and an RBI.  Perhaps the squad was a little distracted after Ozzie Guillen was fined for stating that one of the umps had a vendetta against him and that is why they lost the previous game.  The Sox take on the Tigers again today and look to even the series with a win.

Getting a big win against another divisional adversary, winning the home opener, and making it five straight wins in a row was a great momentum boost for the Sox with their 7-4 win over the Twins on Monday.  All tied at three in the bottom of the seventh inning, Joe Crede hit a grand slam to break the tie and send the Sox on their way to another victory.  All nine of the Sox batters tallied a hit, Crede and Jermaine Dye each had two.  Javier Vazquez started the game for the Sox and pitched a really solid seven innings for the club.  Vazquez gave up seven hits, three earned runs, and struck out eight while only giving up one walk.  Bobby Jenks came in and gave up one hit on his way to his fourth save of the season.  The South Side Sluggers are now 5-2 with all five wins coming against divisional opponents who were projected to be better at the beginning of the season.  The Sox have the day off tomorrow before restarting their series with the Twins on Wednesday.

The White Sox completed their weekend series sweep over the Detroit Tigers by destroying the Tigers at Comerica Park by a score of 13-2.  Sending the Tigers to their sixth straight loss with balance between offense and defense really showed some encouraging signs by the Sox ball club.  Leading the way for the Sox was Joe Crede who went four for five and had three RBIs and Nick Swisher who added two hits with two RBIs.  Pounding Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander for nine runs, which only four of them were earned was a big step in the right direction for the Sox batting line up.  Mark Buehrle pitched a great game against a struggling Tiger team and went seven innings giving up seven hits and only one earned run.  A huge divisional sweep by the Sox is a great way to start their season off.  Up next is another divisional foe in the form of the Minnesota Twins.  Hopefully the Sox can keep rolling and take down the Twins in their home opener for the South Side Sluggers.

A.J. Pierzynski fired up his team and led them to a bid divisional win against the struggling Detroit Tigers.  Pierzynski abused the Detroit pitching staff going three for five, including a 2-run home run and two doubles.  Not to mention he batted in five runs and scoring twice himself.  The Sox ripped off thirteen hits and got big hits when they really counted.  Jose Contreras started against Nate Robertson for the Tigers.  Contreras went five innings and gave up ten hits and four earned runs.  Despite the high amount of hits he gave up, Contreras did his part to keep the Sox in a position to win the game.  The offense really came through and had good production out of a number of players.  Consistent performances like this could really help the Sox chances of doing some damage in the AL central.  Tomorrow is the second game of the three game series at Detroit.

The White Sox got their first win of the season by beating the Cleveland Indians by 2-1 in the last game of their series.  The win helped them avoid the sweep and get that first notch in the win column.  John Danks started the game for the Sox and pitched a huge game going six and two thirds innings and only giving up two hits and one earned run.  Danks didn’t give up his first hit until the sixth inning.  Seven different players got a hit for the Sox and were led by the two home runs by Joe Crede and Juan Uribe.  After Cleveland pounded the Sox pitching in the first two games, Danks showed some dominance by not allowing the powerful Indian offense to get started.  Ozzie Guillen and the rest of the Sox have to be encouraged by Danks and the jolt that he gave the bullpen.  Next up for the Sox are the Detroit Tigers who are in the midst of a three game losing streak after getting swept by the Kansas City Royals.

Fausto Carmona started the 2008 season looking better than he did in 2007.  Carmona pitched seven innings and only gave up four hits and one earned run.  He also walked four and struck out four.  A.J. Pierzynski had the only good offensive day for the Sox going three for four scoring the only two runs including a solo home run.  Javier Vazquez started the game for the Sox going five innings giving up five hits and four earned runs along with four walks and six strike outs.  Mike MacDougal and Matt Thornton pitched a combined three innings and gave up five hits and three earned runs.  Carmona dominated the Sox lineup getting sixteen of his twenty-one outs with ground balls.  The South Side Sluggers have to get their lineup tweaked in order to put some runs on the board and put their team in a position to win some games.  Cleveland and Chicago meet again tomorrow at noon as the Sox look to avoid the sweep.