Slammed Tigers whimper out of town
When the Detroit Tigers traded for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in December, many in baseball anointed them the team to beat from the AL Central and a World Series contender.
The crowd Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field would beg to differ.
Paul Konerko and Joe Crede connected for grand slams to back Javier Vazquez's 9-strikeout gem in an 11-0 White Sox beatdown.
The Sox are 5-1 against the Tigers over two series in the season's first two weeks, dropping Detroit to a league-worst 2-10 and 5½ games behind the first-place Sox.
"We got Detroit at the right time," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Those guys are going to wake up sooner or later because they have unbelievable talent."
The White Sox have outscored Detroit 45-16 in six games, hitting 2 grand slams in a game for the first time since May 19, 1996, at Detroit.
"We feel good about how we played today. The biggest thing is carrying it over into the next series against Oakland," Crede said. "I don't think anybody in the league is counting out Detroit."
Leading 1-0 in the third, the White Sox got things going with one out. Nick Swisher walked, Orlando Cabrera singled and Jim Thome walked off Tigers starter Kenny Rogers.
On a 1-0 pitch, Konerko belted his seventh career grand slam into the second row of the bleachers in left-center.
Two innings later came a turn of events that could only be described as a visual symbol of the season thus far for both teams.
With Cabrera on second with a leadoff double, Thome lifted a pop fly to third base. Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera ran into umpire Doug Eddings and slipped to the ground as the ball dropped safely for a single.
A Jermaine Dye RBI double and 2 walks later, Crede crushed his sixth career grand slam -- and second this season -- over the Sox' bullpen to make it 11-0.
"High school, senior year," Crede said, asked the last time he remembered hitting 2 grand slams in a week. "I think it was 315 feet to center."
Crede is hitting .341 over the first 11 games with a team-high 4 homers and 15 RBI.
"We are lucky to have Joe back," Guillen said. "We missed his bat and we missed his glove last year. Thank God he is healthy every day to go out there and perform."
Not to be lost in the offensive fireworks was Vazquez's dominance.
Vazquez (2-1) allowed just 5 hits with no walks and did not allow a Tigers baserunner past second base, this after retiring the final 11 Twins he faced in last Monday's home opener.
"I just felt good overall," Vazquez said. "The velocity on my fastball was good and I was throwing strikes. It's definitely easier when the guys score 11 runs for you."
White Sox 11, Tigers 0
At the plate: Paul Konerko hit his second home run of the season and seventh career grand slam in the fourth, a bullet that just cleared the fence in left-center. Joe Crede hit his sixth career grand slam (and second of the season) in the fifth, a drive over the White Sox' bullpen. It was the third time in team history the Sox hit 2 grand slams in one game, the first time in Chicago.
On the mound: Javier Vazquez struck out nine and allowed 5 hits with no walks in 7 innings. He did not allow a runner past second base and improved to 3-0 lifetime against Detroit at U.S. Cellular Field.