White Sox take two 3-1 games from Boston
The White Sox swept the Red Sox on Saturday.
They've won five straight on a road trip that started Monday at Cleveland.
They have Manny Ramirez in the lineup, closer Bobby Jenks looks like he's putting a strong finishing kick together, and the starting five also is back in a groove.
But after further extinguishing Boston's playoff hopes with identical 3-1 decisions during a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park, the White Sox have gained a grand total of 1 game in the standings on the first-place Minnesota Twins during their five-game surge.
They still trail Minnesota by 31/2 games in the AL Central, but it looks like the Sox are intent on putting up a fight down the stretch.
"They're a good ballclub," manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters. "But just worry about winning our game. We play three games against (the Twins, Sept. 14-16 at U.S. Cellular Field). Hopefully those three games count for us.
"If those games count for us, we're there. We need to be within 3, 4 games. We think 7-10 games out, that's a long way to swim. We've got to stay on and hopefully we've got the lead when we face them."
If the White Sox continue playing like they have on the road trip, anything seems possible.
Pitching and clutch hitting were the story in the sweep over Boston, with John Danks allowing 1 run in 7 innings while in Game 1 and Gavin Floyd allowing 1 run in 6 innings in Game 2.
"That's our game, pitching and clutch hitting," Guillen said. "I think our pitching is doing well."
The bullpen, which has been a trouble spot for the Sox since the all-star break, was solid in the sweep. Jenks was particularly good, saving both ends of the doubleheader while pitching 21/3 scoreless innings.
Riding a 1-for-10 slump and hurting the White Sox with his poor defensive play, Carlos Quentin sat out Game 1. In the nightcap, Quentin was 2-for-3 and he scored 2 runs.
"Every time Carlos swings the bat good, we're very dangerous," Guillen said. "When Carlos swings the bat good, and you have (Alex) Rios, PK (Paul Konerko) and now Manny (Ramirez), that's a very dangerous lineup.
"And everybody else swings the bat good. Every time Carlos gets hit, our ballclub is a lot better."
In Game 1, the White Sox pounded out 13 hits while beating Red Sox ace Clay Buchholz. Konerko and Ramirez were a combined 5-for-8 in the opener.
"They've always been a good hitting team and (then) you throw Manny in the mix and it makes them that much better," Buchholz said.
The White Sox have three games left against the Twins, but "if you're not winning the other games it's not going to matter when you play the Twins," Jenks said.
<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>White Sox 3-3, Red Sox 1-1</b></p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">The closer: If there were any doubts before Saturday's day-night doubleheader against the Red Sox, Bobby Jenks answered them. Jenks pitched 1 scoreless inning in Game 1 to earn the save, and he came back in Game 2 to earn another one by working 11/3 scoreless innings.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">The starters: John Danks started Game 1 and Gavin Floyd followed in the nightcap against the fading Red Sox. The duo combined to pitch 13 innings while allowing 2 runs.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Payback time: In Game 2, Carlos Quentin led off the third inning with a triple and wound up scoring when he knocked the ball out of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia's glove. Red Sox starter John Lackey drilled Quentin his next time up, and both benches were warned. In his next at-bat, Quentin doubled to deep center field, scoring Mark Teahen from first base with the help of an error.</p>