Well, I didn't get the milestone I thought I might see, but this one was damn close. All I know is that I really began to loathe the White Sox when I saw their 8-0 lead evaporate over the course of the same inning in which they built the entire margin.
Both Roger Clemens and Jon Garland were knocked out in the second after allowing eight runs, both because of failures to record five outs. Robinson Cano's inability to start what should've been a 4-6-3 double play led to five unearned runs for Clemens, but he contributed to the hit parade as well when he failed to cover first base on Darin Erstad's "single" to first baseman Andy Phillips. Phillips did a nice job of knocking the hard-hit ball down, but when he looked for the flip, no one was there.
Thus, I was feeling pretty good when the Sox sent 14 batters to the plate over the course of the inning, including key at-bats from Jermaine Dye (tan RBI double, first of two two-baggers on the inning), A.J. Pierzynski (a two-run single, the second of two singles on the inning), and run-scoring hits from Paul Konerko, Erstad and Juan Uribe.
But the good feelings were gone within the half-hour, as Yankee hitters greeted Jon Garland with five straight hits, including a three-run homer by Wilson Betemit. The Bombers' run was aided by a couple of cheap hits -- when Garland made a good pitch to jam Andy Phillips, it flew about 75 feet in front of Juan Uribe and bounced sideways with crazy spin for a single. Boone Logan made a similar pitch to Jorge Posada, but he fisted it down the right-field line for a two-run double to tie the game.
Fortunately, the White Sox never actually trailed in the game and won the battle of the bullpens. Ryan Bukvich allowed the only Yankee run over the rest of the game when he allowed a solo shot to Bobby Abreu. It was the only blemish on an excellent 7 2/3 innings of work, including two by Bukvich himself.
The highlight was Mike MacDougal's return to the majors. Having just been called up before the game, MacDougal threw a dominant two innings. He attacked the strike zone, cranked up his fastball to 96 on the stadium gun and didn't miss much with his slider. He nearly got into a jam when Andy Phillips singled with one out to put runners on first and second, but he settled down after Johnny Damon lined to Paul Konerko to start a 3-6, inning-ending double play.
With a scoreless, walkless inning under his belt, MacDougal blew through the 2-3-4 hitters, getting a weak groundout from Melky Cabrera before striking out Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez. Abreu froze on a backdoor slider, and Rodriguez struck out swinging after sitting ahead in the count 3-0 at one point.
Scott Podsednik re-started the Sox offense in the fourth by doubling to lead off the inning. He'd score on Jermaine Dye's first homer of the day to give the Sox a 10-8 lead. Pods would add an RBI single in the fifth, and then Konerko and Dye went deep off Kyle Farnsworth in the eighth to give Sox pitching enough of a cushion for once.
Record: 49-59 |
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