Cabrera gives Indians 11-inning win over White Sox
About that buzz the White Sox built with their near perfect play in Monday's 6-0 win over the Indians in the season opener ... it officially expired at U.S. Cellular Field on Thursday night.
Actually, it was a slow, agonizing demise, culminating with a 5-3 loss to Cleveland in 11 innings.
And the culprit? It's a familiar foil - the White Sox' offense.
The Sox managed just 6 hits in the frigid 3-hour, 59-minute marathon and they were just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
But here's what annoyed manager Ozzie Guillen the most - White Sox hitters struck out 12 times against Indians starter Justin Masterson and six relief pitchers.
"When you talk about this ballclub, we can't have the luxury to strike out with people on base," Guillen said after the Sox dropped their second straight to Cleveland. "We have to put the ball more in play, make things happen.
"I know they're trying to get better at-bats with people on base, but I've seen so many strikeouts with people on base. I know it's the third game of the season and I know it's cold, but we had too many strikeouts."
In the second inning, Alex Rios killed a potential big inning by striking out swinging with runners on first and third and one out.
In the fourth, Gordon Beckham came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out and went down on three pitches.
Carlos Quentin, who hit a 2-run homer in the seventh inning to pull the White Sox into a 3-3 tie, followed Beckham with a walk to force in a run before Paul Konerko also struck out.
Then there was Alexei Ramirez, who struck out three times and is off to yet another slow start.
"Nobody wants to strike out with the bases loaded, that's very frustrating," Beckham said. "I don't consider myself a guy that strikes out a lot. It's obviously frustrating. I don't know, it's just a rough night. It was one of those nights that didn't go our way."
And it was a night that left Guillen in a foul mood.
"I'm tired," Guillen said. "When we built this club, I didn't want people to strike out and do too much. If they continue to strike out like that, then we find another approach. With the ballclub we have, we can't be striking out like that. We can't. If we continue to strike out like that, then that's the game we're going to have, 3-0, 3-2, 4-3. The bullpen is going to lose the game because we strike out too much."
J.J. Putz took the loss after allowing 2 runs on 3 hits in the 11th inning.
"I feel like we should have swept them," said Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out seven. "It's early on. This doesn't really mean anything right now. But it would be nice to get on a winning streak."
<p class="factbxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p>
<p class="News">Indians 5, White Sox 3</p>
<p class="News"><b>Grand total:</b> In the three-game series against the Indians, the Sox totaled just 15 hits and were 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. They still managed to score 11 runs while dropping two of three.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Santos debuts:</b> Converted infielder Sergio Santos made his major-league debut and pitched 1 scoreless inning. Santos' fastball consistently hit 95 mph, and nine of his 13 pitches were strikes. Take another step down the depth chart, Scott Linebrink.</p>
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