At this rate, Mark Buehrle may no longer be under contract with the Sox by the time he achieves his 100th victory. With this support, who knows if any dollar amount would be enough to bring him back.
Buehrle had better stuff than he did when
he threw his no-hitter -- the Blue Jays just happened to take advantage of his two most hittable pitches, and that decided the game. The only hits Buehrle allowed were solo homers to Aaron Hill and Frank Thomas.
Otherwise, Buehrle was magnificent. He went the distance, threw only 91 pitches, and added another sub-two-hour game to his resume, with this one wrapping up in only 1:50. Plus, he spared us from having to see a reliever.
The offense was no help, and Roy Halladay was the one to enjoy his 100th victory tonight. Halladay pitched well, but at the same time, he just followed instructions. Rob Mackowiak didn't see a ball outside; Joe Crede only saw sliders and two-seam fastballs low and away. He hit his spots and took advantage of the Sox's impatience.
And the Sox weren't jumpy only at the plate, but on the bases, too. Darin Erstad and A.J. Pierzynski were both caught stealing (Pierzynski on the hit-and-run), so if Halladay didn't erase them, the Sox erased themselves. The Sox did pose a legitimate threat when they had runners on second and third with nobody out, but in typical Sox fashion, nobody scored. Erstad couldn't hit the ball out of the infield and grounded into a fielder's choice. His CS made it two outs, and Tadahito Iguchi grounded out to allow Halladay to escape unscathed.
That series of events was only
the second-worst thing to happen to Erstad tonight. He looks like he snapped something swinging at a low-and-inside sinker from Halladay, and collapsed like a sack of potatoes. I'd be surprised if he weren't done for the year, based on how he went down.
Record: 24-25 |
Box score |
Play-by-play