White Sox get back on track with 5-2 win over Tigers
There's no crying in baseball, and there are no excuses.
The White Sox were doing neither last week while going 0-5 away from U.S. Cellular Field and playing some really bad baseball against the Orioles and Twins.
In reality, the Sox had to sit in their hotel rooms in Baltimore on Monday and Tuesday when rioting in the streets of the city postponed the first two games at Camden Yards.
Moving on to Minnesota and four straight losses to the Twins, a third of the 25-man roster was dealing with the flu bug.
No excuses, but the White Sox were feeling much better about themselves after returning home Tuesday night and beating the Tigers 5-2.
"Obviously, we're not going to hide behind anything," winning starter Jeff Samardzija said after pitching 7 innings and allowing 2 runs on 7 hits. "That was a terrible road trip for us, we weren't happy with the way it went. But to pat ourselves a little bit, it wasn't the most normal road trip in the world with what happened in Baltimore and everything.
"So we just needed to regroup and understand that we have a great team here and we just need to go out and do what we do. We came out and played a strong game and hopefully we can do it again tomorrow."
Samardzija exited Tuesday's game in pain after taking an Ian Kinsler line drive off his right arm. He hung in there, picked up the ball and threw Kinsler out at first base to end the seventh inning.
X-rays on the arm were negative.
"I'm good," Samardzija said. "If (Blackhawks defenseman Brent) Seabrook can stay in the game after taking a puck off the face, I can stay in the game with a ball off the arm."
Samardzija (2-2) got a shot in the arm when the White Sox took the lead for good in the third inning with 4 runs off Detroit starter Shane Greene (3-2). Conor Gillaspie's 2-run triple was the big blow.
"We worked the count and didn't chase out of the zone and that's half the battle up here," Gillaspie said. "It was nice to do what we did tonight and I felt like we competed, felt like guys were in there grinding out at-bats and we had a good plan going in."
The White Sox did continue their sloppy play with 3 errors, but Samardzija and closer David Robertson pitched over the miscues.
"There's definitely some things in there we don't like seeing," manager Robin Ventura said. "You have to be able to clean it up to win consistently. That's never going to change."
Suspension update:
Jeff Samardzija and Chris Sale appealed their five-game suspensions for their involvement in an April 23 brawl against the Royals and no decision has yet to be made.
With Samardzija pitching Tuesday and Sale opposing the Tigers Wednesday, both pitchers are likely close to dropping their appeals.
"We've got a pretty good idea how it's going to unfold," general manager Rick Hahn said.
Albers update:
Relief pitcher Matt Albers, who fractured his right pinkie during the brawl against the Royals, needed more surgery to repair the finger.
"Unfortunately the bone was not healing the right way," GM Rick Hahn said. "They inserted pins in his finger and he is looking at a return of 6-8 weeks."