Sure, it wasn't easy watching Jim Thome fan on fastballs and Paul
Konerko ground into a double play when the heart of the order came up
in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and nobody out.
However, this loss is pinned on Jon Garland.
Garland worked his
second straight labor-intensive outing, but unlike his outing against
the Indians, Garland couldn't get out of the fifth. Control issues bit
him in the butt, and the Red Sox made him pay both times he suffered
major lapses.
He walked two batters in an inning twice, and both
times it resulted in a three-run homer. Manny Ramirez gave Boston a
quick 3-0 lead in the first, but it paled in comparison to the second
occasion. After retiring the first two batters in the fifth, Garland
walked Ramirez and J.D. Drew. Mike Lowell then followed up with a
Monster shot to make it a 6-1 game.
Garland was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, which took 112 pitches to complete.
Charlie
Haeger had the same issue, walking the first two he faced in the
sixth. He didn't throw a gopher ball, but two runs came across the
plate to score via a single and sacrifice fly.
Haeger eventually
settled down to give the White Sox a chance to get back in it, and in a
weird turn of events, the bottom of the order actually sparked the
scoring. Josh Fields hit a pair of RBI singles, Juan Uribe had a
three-hit day, and even Jerry Owens and Alex Cintron contributed.
Unfortunately,
with the season being the way it is, the only two guys who had been
hitting all year -- Thome and Konerko -- didn't show today. Thome did
draw a bases-loaded walk, but Konerko failed both times with the bags
full. In addition to the game-ending double play, Konerko also popped
foul with one out and a struggling Manny Delcarmen in.
Record: 43-54 |
Box score |
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