The Sox grabbed an early lead, the starting pitching preserved it, the offense added insurance in the late innings, and the bullpen finished it off.
Either the Sox are righting the ship, or the Tigers are so dysfunctional that the Sox look normal by comparison.
Jim Thome hit a clutch first-inning homer (seriously -- they don't come much bigger when you see how Verlander dusted himself off and had his curve working) one batter after Carlos Quentin broke up a double play by making Placido Polanco run six steps around second base to get the throw off, and that was enough for John Danks.
What else was enough? Three pitches. He used the fastball, cutter and changeup exclusively, setting up hitters with the hard stuff inside, and finishing them off with the changeup just off the plate away. He struck out six over 6 2/3, and really wasn't threatened until his final inning.
If there was one downer, it was the last pitch he threw. With two outs, a runner on second and a 1-2 count on Gary Sheffield, Toby Hall wanted the ball up -- even standing up. Danks, instead, grooved the fastball, and Sheffield ripped it into the gap for an RBI single.
D.J. Carrasco cleaned up the mess with two straight sinkers, and Octavio Dotel and Bobby Jenks retired six of the seven guys they faced.
The Sox wouldn't let Verlander get the complete game -- he threw 130 pitches, but failed on three attempts to get the 24th out. Jermaine Dye doubled, Thome walked and Paul Konerko walked to end his evening, and after battling to a full count, Alexei Ramirez slashed a single to right for two welcome insurance runs.
Record: 63-49 |
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