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Sox catch a much-needed break -- and a win

Posted April 11, 2010 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

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The White Sox really don't care about the bizarre finish in Sunday's game against the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field.

They only care about emerging with a much-needed victory.

"Huge," starting pitcher Mark Buehrle said. "We didn't get off to a good start, but we didn't get swept."

"It feels good to win, period," Andruw Jones said.

"It's huge, man, it's huge," Juan Pierre said. "For the fans' sake they want to see a win, as well as we did."

The White Sox finally got one, a 5-4 decision over Minnesota. But it didn't become official until Jim Thome put a big scare into the crowd of 25,550 on the South Side.

"Every time Jim Thome is at the plate, he's in scoring position," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Jim's been there in the past and he's had a lot of success in those at-bats because he's the type of hitter that's not going to panic. He did it for us a lot."

Sox closer Bobby Jenks got the first two outs of the ninth inning before J.J. Hardy singled up the middle. That brought Thome to the plate as a pinch hitter, and the former White Sox slugger fell behind 1-2 while swinging late at a pair of 96 mph fastballs.

Jenks went with the heat again, and this time Thome made contact and drove the ball to deep left-center field.

"Jim Thome's a Hall of Famer for a reason, and I just thought about getting the ball in as quick as possible," said Pierre, who scooped it up on the warning track. "I knew they were probably going to be sending (Hardy). Ball in the gap, man on first, no-brainer to send him. I just turned and threw.

"I saw (Mark) Teahen and I just chunked it to him - got it out of my hands so I couldn't get blamed for nothing, and he made the relay. But I was shocked how far away (Hardy) was from home when Teahen got the ball."

Hardy was just rounding third base when Teahen got the throw and he was thrown out by a good 25 feet.

"I'm glad it happened that way," Jenks said after getting his first save of the season. "I'm going to have a lot more clean ones than that. It was nice to get one of those saves where things don't always go your way."

Hardy never got a stop sign on Thome's single, but his decision to try to score was definitely the kind of break the Sox have been looking for.

And they also welcomed a rare clutch hit by Jones, who drove in the deciding run in the eighth inning with a two-out, pinch-hit single.

"I went out there and I don't know what I was thinking the first two pitches," Jones said after connecting on a 2-2 fastball against Minnesota reliever Jose Mijares. "They were good pitches to hit. I had to step up and try to refocus and put the ball in play to try to get that run in."

Mark Buehrle (2-0) was shaky early, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits over the first three innings. After that, the left-hander settled down and allowed just 2 hits over the next five.

"I felt like I made some good pitches in the first couple of innings and they were getting hits," Buehrle said. "Later in the game, I was throwing pitches down the middle, falling behind, throwing a 2-0 fastball down the middle and guys were popping up.

"So I guess this game is a lot of luck and I had luck going my way in the second half of the game."

Scot Gregor's game tracker

Play at the plate: Mark Teahen cut off Juan Pierre's throw from left field in the ninth inning and easily threw out J.J. Hardy at home to preserve the Sox' win.

Mr. Clutch: Andruw Jones' pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth was the difference. Last season the White Sox didn't have a pinch-hit RBI until their 109th game (Aug. 6).

Making contact: The Sox didn't strike out, the first time that has happened since June 6, 2008.

The elusive W: Not only did the White Sox snap their four-game losing streak, they avoided their first 1-5 start since 1995.

White Sox scouting report

White Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre

TV: Comcast SportsNet Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; Channel 26 Wednesday

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

Pitching matchups: The Sox' Jake Peavy (0-0) vs. Brian Tallet (1-0) Monday at 6:20 p.m.; Gavin Floyd (0-0) vs. Ricky Romero (0-0) Tuesday at 6:07 p.m.; John Danks (0-0) vs. Brandon Morrow (0-0) Wednesday at 6:07 p.m.; Freddy Garcia (0-1) vs. Dana Eveland (1-0) Thursday at 6:07 p.m.

At a glance: Going into the series, this looks like a really bad matchup for the White Sox. They have been swept in four-game series at Rogers Centre in each of the last two seasons and Toronto has won five straight to grab the AL East lead after losing its season opener. Peavy, who was shaky in his first start of the season, has never pitched against the Blue Jays. Carlos Quentin has been hit by pitches three times in six games.

Next: Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field, Friday-Sunday

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