Jon Garland
still can't catch a break.
After watching
Javier Vazquez and
Jose Contreras receive plenty of run support this series, Garland took the mound, pitched a fine game and... the Sox got shut out.
And how! Zack Greinke struck out 10, and the Sox only got one runner to scoring position. That's when Jerry Owens led off the fourth inning with a double and made it to third on Juan Uribe's sacrifice bunt.
Unfortunately, the ump gave Greinke about six inches off the inside corner on a two-strike fastball to Jim Thome, ruining the chance for a sacrifice fly. Paul Konerko followed up with a check-swing strikeout, and that would be the hardest Greinke would have to work all day. Sox hitters struck out 10 times on the day.
Garland, meanwhile, made only a couple of mistakes. He had two strikes on Tony Pena Jr. in the fifth, and Toby Hall stood up halfway to set the target high. Garland didn't get the ball up enough, and Pena took it to right to provide the only run Kansas City would need. He'd later score on a sacrifice fly.
On the other hand, Garland didn't walk anybody, allowed only six hits and added more support to his Gold Glove case. He fielded two bunts down the first-base line well, stabbed a comebacker and picked off a runner.
Record: 66-87 |
Box score |
Play-by-play