Slam dancin': Sox step all over Cubs
On a day he might have felt like crashing after an overnight flight home from Los Angeles for him and his White Sox teammates, Jermaine Dye ended Friday's game against the Cubs at sold-out U.S. Cellular Field by, appropriately, crashing.
He banged into the right-field fence but hung on to Kosuke Fukudome's long drive.
Dye's defensive gem provided the final highlight on an afternoon filled with them for the White Sox in their 10-3 win that snapped their six-game losing streak against the crosstown rival in front of 39,132.
More Coverage Stories BARRY ROZNER: This Sox victory an inside job [6/27/08]BURT CONSTABLE: Sox shower Cub fans with cold reality [6/27/08] This time, Sox get big inning [6/27/08] Long day for Piniella, short one for Dempster [6/27/08] Eyre's injury creates situation [6/27/08] Jacked-up Swisher picks perfect time to send one deep [6/27/08] Having fun at coach's painful expense [6/27/08] Slideshows Crosstown Classic highlights While Nick Swisher smacked his third career grand slam, and the suddenly hot again Carlos Quentin tied his career high with 4 hits, Dye went 3-for-5 with a double, 3 RBI and a stolen base. He also made a sliding catch of a Derrek Lee flyball in foul territory."I came to the field today not feeling good, feeling a little sluggish, tired from a long flight last night," Dye said. "To go out and play like I did today says a lot about just myself getting ready to play when it's time to turn it on. It was a good all-around game for me and my teammates."Jose Contreras pitched 6 innings for the win, as the White Sox won for the 13th time in 15 games at The Cell, where they're 25-11 overall.They knocked out Cubs' nine-game winner Ryan Dempster in a 7-run third. It was the shortest outing of the season for Dempster, who pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball against the White Sox at Wrigley Field last Sunday night."I don't necessarily think there was much different with Dempster today," said Swisher, whose slam capped the third, the White Sox's biggest inning of the season. "He's a great pitcher, there's no doubt about that. I think there's a huge difference playing here than playing over there (at Wrigley Field). I think when you're at home you get in your routines, just like the Cubs do. They play extremely well at home, and we like to think we do as well."The Cubs scored their runs, all off Contreras, on solo home runs by Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot and Jim Edmonds.While the White Sox were stellar at the plate and in the field, Eric Patterson continued to make it look like the Cubs actually miss Alfonso Soriano's defense in left field, as he committed two more defensive gaffes.Patterson, who dropped a lazy fly that led to 3 unearned runs against Baltimore on Tuesday, lackadaisically caught A.J. Pierzynski's flyball in the first inning, allowing a heads-up Orlando Cabrera to tag and slide into second base. Cabrera then scored on Quentin's single."We're going to be aggressive on the base paths," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Orlando is a smart ballplayer. He knows what we need to get it going. We're going to try to force those guys to make errors and force those guys to get us."In the White Sox's third, Pierzynski's RBI single rolled under the glove of a charging Patterson for a two-base error.After the game, Cubs manager Lou Piniella suggested he might not use Patterson in left again."We'll make some changes and go from there," said Piniella, whose team has lost three of its last four and whose pitchers have yielded 21 runs in the last two days.Lee grounded into a pair of double plays, the second killing a third-inning rally with the White Sox up 1-0. Lee has hit into 19 double plays, tops in all of baseball."To me, the big pitch of the game was Derrek Lee's double-play groundball," Guillen said. "I think that changed the scenario." 512363White Sox first baseman Nick Swisher celebrates his grand slam off Cubs starter Ryan Dempster Friday in the fourth inning at U.S. Cellular Field. The Sox plated seven runs in the inning.Mary Beth Nolan | Staff Photographer 512344Cubs manager Lou Pinella disputes a call with umpire Mark Wegner after White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye stole third base Friday in the fourth inning at U.S. Cellular Field.Mary Beth Nolan | Staff Photographer 262512White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye steals an extra base hit from Cubs DH Kosuke Fukudome sealing the Southsiders' 10-3 win Friday at U.S. Cellular Field.Mary Beth Nolan | Staff Photographer