White Sox come back from the brink, but barely
It was a game the White Sox desperately needed to keep their fading playoff hopes alive, and they got it.
The Sox rallied back to beat the Royals 4-3 at U.S. Cellular Field Friday night, and A.J. Pierzynski's 2-run double with two outs in the eighth inning decided the outcome.
The White Sox also picked up a full game in the standings on the first-place Twins for the first time since Aug. 24, cutting Minnesota's lead in the AL Central to 5 games.
OK, that takes care of the meat. But one particular side dish almost made the final score irrelevant.
Mark Buehrle started for the Sox, and the umpiring crew featured Joe West at third base and Angel Hernandez behind the plate.
In an anonymous ESPN player poll a few months ago, West was voted the second-worst umpire in the game, followed by Hernandez. CB Bucknor was rated the worst umpire.
West kept a fairly low profile Friday, but Hernandez was working the plate and he called a balk on Buehrle in the fourth inning and again in the fifth.
Hernandez ejected Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on the second call, and Buehrle was in disbelief after the game.
Remember, it was the same crew - with West making the calls from first base - that stuck Buehrle with 2 balks and an ejection during a May 26 game at Cleveland.
"I think (umpire) Jim Joyce said it best," Buehrle said after Friday's game. "As an umpire you don't want to be in the media and controversy but there are some people that, I guess, enjoy being in the middle of stuff. I've done this move for 10 years now. I've got 4 balks this year. It's the same crew.
"I actually got an explanation that I was stepping home, I wasn't stepping to first, which isn't possible for me to step home and throw the ball to first without tripping on myself and falling over.
"Then (Hernandez) made J.J. (Putz) take off his bracelet and made (Chris) Sale take off his necklace. It gets to the point kind where kind of be professional, and you're trying to draw attention to yourself. We won the game, that's all that matters."
Guillen went crazy after the second balk call and was quickly ejected by Hernandez.
"I wish I could say what I feel," Guillen said. "I wish I was in Venezuela, I could say whatever I want. But I've got to protect my players. I don't know why. This is the only crew ... Buehrle's been pitching for me for seven years and this is the only crew that always does that to him. I don't know what's going on.
"I wish I could say a lot stuff but it might cost me a lot of money and a lot of days. I've already donated too much money to major-league baseball."
At least the White Sox got the win.
"Everyone knows what's going on," Pierzynski said. "There are no secrets. Every single person in this clubhouse, every single person in this stadium, every single person in major-league baseball knows what the situation is. We have to try to win every game. To come from behind in the eighth inning is a huge lift. It was a good team win and as big as everyone thought."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p>
<p class="News">White Sox 4, Royals 3</p>
<p class="News"><b>In the clutch:</b> A.J. Pierzynski's 2-run double in the eighth inning rallied the Sox from a 3-1 deficit, pulling them within 5 games of the first-place Twins.</p>
<p class="News"><b>He's no Angel:</b> Home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez called 2 balks on White Sox starter Mark Buehrle. Earlier this season, Hernandez's crew mate, Joe West, also called 2 balks on the Sox' left-hander.</p>
<p class="News"><b>New guys:</b> Brent Morel hit his first major-league home run to give the Sox the lead in the third inning. In the ninth, rookie Chris Sale held down the Royals while earning his second save.</p>
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