Jake Peavy spins shutout as Dunn, Konerko belt homers
Starting pitchers often talk about trying to feed off the performance of successful rotation mates, and White Sox right-hander Philip Humber certainly gave Jake Peavy something to chew on.
Humber pitched the 21st perfect game in major-league history in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Mariners in Seattle.
On Monday, while Humber was busy talking with President Obama, communicating with the Hall of Fame and taping a guest shot for “The Late Show with David Letterman's” popular Top 10 list segment that aired later that night, Peavy was preparing to pitch against the Athletics as the Sox opened a three-game series at Oakland.
Peavy (3-0) pitched complete-game 3-hitter, throwing 107 pitches as the White Sox earned a 4-0 victory. Peavy allowed only a leadoff single to Jemile Weeks in the fourth inning, a double to Yoenis Cespedes in the seventh and a single to Coco Crisp in the ninth.
The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner walked two and faced only four batters more than the minimum as he recorded his sixth career shutout and 10th complete game. Since drawing a no-decision against Texas in his first start this season, Peavy has a 1.19 ERA over his last 22 innings.
The White Sox moved into a tie for first place with idle Detroit in the Al Central.
Peavy was perfect through the first 3 innings, striking out four Oakland hitters.
But dreams of another perfect game, or even a ho-hum no-hitter, ended when Weeks greeted Peavy with a single to center field leading off the fourth inning.
Adam Dunn, who was 4-for-12 with a double, 2 home runs and 6 RBI in the Sox' three-game sweep at Seattle, gave Peavy the early advantage when he hit a solo homer off Oakland starter Bartolo Colon leading off the fourth inning.
Paul Konerko made it a 2-0 game when he followed Dunn with another solo home run, a rocket line drive that cleared the center-field fence at The Coliseum.
Konerko now has 399 career home runs.
As for Humber, he is still in high demand on the heels of Saturday's gem.
The 29-year-old Texas got a phone call from President Obama, a big Sox fan, before Monday night's game against the A's.
“It definitely is an honor to speak to him,” Humber told reporters. “He just wanted to congratulate me. He even asked about (wife) Kristan and the baby and asked about how that was going.
“He shared some of his experience of being a new father. He's a very nice man and he represents our country in a good way. He's definitely a great communicator and I appreciate him talking to me.”
On Letterman, the category was the Top 10 Thoughts That Went Through Humber's Mind During the Perfect Game. Topping the list was: “Humber? How about Humbest?”