Quentin's slam helps White Sox beat Angels 6-1
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- White Sox general manager Kenny Williams took plenty of hits after trading standout center fielder Chris Young to the Diamondbacks prior to the 2006 season.
Of course, Williams got a pretty good starting pitcher (Javier Vazquez) in exchange for Young, but that's often been overlooked.
The way Carlos Quentin is mashing the baseball for the Sox this season, how long is it going to be before Arizona GM Josh Byrnes has to face the heat?
"That kid, I never thought he was that special,'' Guillen said after Quentin broke a 1-1 tie with a grand slam in the eighth inning Wednesday night, lifting the White Sox to a 6-1 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium. "I never thought he was that good.''
Quentin, acquired from the Diamondbacks on Dec. 3 in a trade for minor-league infielder Chris Carter, continued to put up huge numbers while helping the Sox snap a three-game losing streak.
The 25-year-old left fielder hit his 10th home run, most in the American League, and Quentin's 34 RBI are also near the top.
In keeping with his low-key nature, Quentin deflected all of the praise after hitting his first career grand slam.
"I was just hoping to come through for the team,'' Quentin said after driving in 5 runs against the Angels. "The story of the game tonight was Jose Contreras. He threw the ball great.''
Contreras continued to perform much more like the starting pitcher that was 26-16 for the White Sox in 2005-06 than the one that was 10-17 last year.
The big right-hander pitched 7 innings against L.A., allowing 1 run on 4 hits.
"I felt great,'' Contreras said through an interpreter. "My forkball was excellent, and my fastball, I was able to throw it to both sides of the plate.''
After being shut out by the Angels on Tuesday night while scratching out just 3 hits, Guillen shook up the batting order.
A.J. Pierzynski and Quentin hit in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, with Jim Thome and Paul Konerko sliding to No. 5 and 6.
Guillen looked like a genius early when Orlando Cabrera, Pierzynski and Quentin greeted Los Angeles starter John Lackey with 3 straight singles to take a 1-0 lead.
The score was tied at 1-1 in the eighth inning, and it looked like another offensive loss was in store for the Sox, before Quentin cleared the bases on a 2-0 fastball from relief pitcher Scot Shields.
"We needed this game bad,'' Guillen said. "We needed this game for the momentum of the team. We didn't want to waste another good outing from the starting pitcher.''