White Sox draw 7 free passes, snap 6-game skid
Would a little patience at the plate pay off for the White Sox on Friday?
While getting swept at home by the New York Yankees this week, the Sox didn't draw a single walk. It was the first time since 1968 the team had gone four games without any free trips to first base.
“We're a swinging team, there's no doubt about that, but we have guys that go out there and take walks,” manager Ozzie Guillen said before facing Minnesota.
It took just three batters to break the streak as Paul Konerko drew a walk in the first inning, which helped create a run.
The Sox ended up with 7 walks on Friday, none more important than a fifth-inning pass by Adam Dunn, which was followed by Carlos Quentin's second home run of the night. The 2-run shot put the visitors ahead and the White Sox posted a 5-3 victory at Target Field, snapping a six-game losing streak.
“This is the White Sox — up and down, unpredictable team,” Guillen told reporters in Minneapolis. “I take it day by day. Sometimes, I put my hopes so high, then a few days later, I've got a broken heart.”
The Sox' dismal history against the Twins is well-known. Heading into this contest, the Sox were 1-7 against Minnesota this season and 7-29 in the last 36 games.
A more powerful streak, though, was Mark Buerhle's run of quality starts. The left-hander allowed 3 unearned runs in the first inning when a Dunn error set up an RBI single by Joe Mauer and 2-run homer from designated hitter Jason Kubel.
The pressure was on for Buerhle (9-5) to continue a remarkable run of allowing 3 runs or less in 16 consecutive starts. He came through, surrendering just 2 singles over the next 7 innings. Chris Sale gave up a two-out double in the ninth, but recorded his third save.
The Buerhle streak now stands at 17 straight games allowing 3 runs or less, which hasn't been done by a White Sox pitcher since Dave Lemonds had 17 in a row in 1972.
“To be honest, I looked up there in the fifth inning at my pitch count and I thought it was higher than what it was,” Buehrle said after the game. “Just everything is working right now.”
Quentin drove in 4 of the 5 runs. After the Sox loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, he brought home a run with a fielder's choice grounder. Quentin homered in the third to make it 3-2, then added another long one to put the White Sox ahead in the fifth. The final run scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning.
Former Sox slugger Jim Thome, who has 598 career home runs, did not play for the Twins.
Heading into Friday's action, the Sox ranked second-to-last in the American League in drawing walks, ahead of only Minnesota.
“When the team's not playing well, when you're not hitting; all of the sudden, you're missing (Konerko). Then you want to overdo,” Guillen said. “That's when you go backwards, start swinging at every pitch, start chasing bad pitches.
“That happens to a lot of people, start chasing pitches because you're desperate for hits. You're hitting .210 and one at-bat, you want to hit .320. You have to take it step by step, every pitch is important and make them count.”
After the game, the Sox announced that pitcher Zach Stewart will be called up to start Saturday in place of Jake Peavy, whose turn will be pushed back to Sunday. Reliever Brian Bruney was designated for assignment to make room for Stewart.