Cabrera carries White Sox to 5-4 win over Red Sox
With runners on first and second and one out in the third inning, Melky Cabrera came to the plate to face David Price, who was making his first start of the season for the Boston Red Sox Monday afternoon after being sidelined with elbow discomfort.
It sure looked like Cabrera was looking for a fastball from Price on the first pitch.
"No," Cabrera countered through interpreter Billy Russo. "I was just looking for a good pitch to hit. That was a good one."
Price threw a 95-mph fastball right down the middle of the plate and Cabrera slammed it for a 3-run homer to left-center field.
That put the Chicago White Sox up 3-1, and after the Red Sox took a 4-3 lead, Cabrera and the White Sox answered back one more time and emerged with a 5-4 win Monday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Yolmer Sanchez tripled off Boston reliever Matt Barnes leading off the seventh inning and Kevan Smith followed with an RBI-double to tie the game at 4.
With two outs, Cabrera blooped a single to short center field to score Smith on a close play at the plate and decide the outcome.
"He's a professional hitter," manager Rick Renteria said of Cabrera. "His bat is starting to come more to life. He's kind of finding himself back in the zone where he's comfortable."
Coming out of the bullpen to make his first start for the White Sox, David Holmberg pitched 4 innings and allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks.
Juan Minaya (1-0), Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson each pitched 1 scoreless inning of relief to to close the game.
Shields update:
On the disabled list since April 18 with a right lat strain, James Shields threw off the mound again before Monday's game against the Red Sox and took another positive step.
"Feel great," Shields said. "I think I worked really hard trying to get back, trying to get my body in shape. I think we're ready to go on a rehab assignment."
Pitching coach Don Cooper said Shields could be on a minor-league mound on Saturday.
Considering he's been sidelined more than six weeks, Shields is likely going to need multiple rehab starts before rejoining the White Sox's rotation. He's actually looking forward to pitching in the minors.
"I'm going to go out there and compete," Shields said. "Whether I'm rehabbing or not, I'm a competitor. Try to help those guys win a couple games while I'm down there. At the end of the day, I got to know those kids in spring training and I know how hard they work, so it'll be a good experience."
Prospect watch:
Starting for low Class A Kannapolis Sunday night, Alec Hansen had 15 strikeouts in 7 innings against Greensboro. The right-hander allowed 1 run on 5 hits.
"It was pretty much, for the most part, like my last starts have been going," Hansen said. "I've been throwing strikes. Just got a lot of swing and misses, really. There weren't a lot of backward Ks. I guess my stuff was just better tonight than it had been."
Drafted on the second round out of Oklahoma last year, the 6-foot-7 Hansen has 25 strikeouts in 12 innings over his last 2 starts.