Floyd's gem stops White Sox' losing streak at six games
Maybe it was a good thing the Twins' Joe Mauer doubled with one out in the ninth inning Tuesday night.
The gap shot to left-center ended starting pitcher Gavin Floyd's no-hit bid at U.S. Cellular Field, but the White Sox' right-hander said he was more concerned about the final score.
Floyd threw a no-hitter in high school (Baltimore's Mount St. Joseph) and one in the minor leagues. He also pitched part of another no-hitter in the minors.
"We lost all three of them," Floyd said after the Sox beat Minnesota 7-1. "I'll take the win."
And so will the White Sox, who snapped a six-game losing streak after finally getting some offense to go with Floyd's 1-hit masterpiece over 8½ innings.
"Floyd was tremendous out there," Paul Konerko said. "It was just a great game all the way around. Hopefully it's the start of a streak the other way."
Floyd has been streaking the right way since his first start of the season. The 25-year-old pitcher beat the Tigers in his 2008 debut, and he had a no-hitter against Detroit in his second start until Edgar Renteria singled with one out in the eighth inning.
In his latest bid to become the 17th Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter, Floyd struggled early, issuing 2 walks in the first inning and 1 run on a walk and error by left fielder Carlos Quentin in the fourth.
"He got better as the game went on," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "It was a lot of fun. Mauer just hit the ball in the perfect spot."
On a 1-0 pitch, Mauer drove the ball between Nick Swisher in center field and Quentin in left.
Swisher dove for the ball but came up well short.
"I tried my best Superman impersonation," Swisher said. "I have never been a part of anything like that. I wanted to be in the right spot at the right time. In my mind, it (stinks). I wanted that for Gavin."
While he struggled with his command early, Floyd settled in once his lethal curveball started biting.
"My fastball and slider were good," he said. "Then my curveball started coming around. It was kind of a mix."
A very good mix.
"I felt good," Floyd said. "I had a good rhythm, a good tempo. Every inning, I tried to keep it the same."
If Floyd keeps going to the mound with the same skill, the White Sox might have a burgeoning ace on their hands.
"He's got great stuff," Konerko said. "You don't expect a near no-hitter every time, but there's no reason he can't be a front-line pitcher. He's got the tools to do it. He looks like he could be a No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher."
The Sox wasted a lot of good pitching while losing four straight at Toronto before returning home to play the Twins. The sweep can be blamed on the offense, which scored just 5 runs on 16 hits.
Against Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn and two relievers, the White Sox scored 7 runs on 11 hits.
Before the game, Sox general manager Kenny Williams had lunch with manager Ozzie Guillen.
"I asked Ozzie a very simple question," Williams said. "What kind of team do you have, what do you think you have, what do you think you need to win this thing?
"He said: 'I think we can win this thing with what we have. We just need to play better on both sides of the ball and pick up the pace defensively as well.'
"With regards to the hitting, he assured me they have had group discussions on it, they're all on top of it in trying to figure out a way to get guys on track. This isn't very hard because we've got the talent. It's not very hard at all."
White Sox 7, Twins 1
On the mound: Gavin Floyd had a no-hitter going until Joe Mauer doubled with one out in the ninth inning. Floyd was lifted after the hit. He allowed 1 unearned run on 1 hit and also had 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. On April 12, Floyd was working on a no-hitter vs. Detroit until Edgar Renteria singled with one out in the eighth.
At the plate: A.J. Pierzynski singled in the fourth inning to snap an 0-for-15 skid. Jermaine Dye came in with 1 hit in his last 23 at-bats. The right fielder was 2-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI.
-- Scot Gregor