Sox refuse to quit, win with 2 in 10th
In June, the White Sox led major-league baseball in batting average (. 301), home runs (48), runs scored (164), on-base percentage (. 362) and slugging (. 522).
They opened July with another home win over the Cleveland Indians, but the Sox took a different approach.
"If we want to win, we can't rely on the same guys every day,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said.
And the White Sox don't want to always rely on having to outslug the opposition, something they did on a regular basis while winning 17 games in June.
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In their 3-2 victory in 10 innings over the Indians on Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, the Sox did get a big home run from the "Cuban Missle,'' second baseman Alexei Ramirez.
After Cleveland's Casey Blake homered off reliever Matt Thornton in the top of the 10th inning to put the Indians in front 2-1, Ramirez followed suit in the bottom of the 10th when his two-out drive to left field barely cleared the fence.
Pinch hitter DeWayne Wise followed with a single off Indians closer Joe Borowski, and after Wise stole second base, Orlando Cabrera singled to end it.
"It's very exciting,'' said Wise, who easily beat center fielder Grady Sizemore's throw to the plate with a headfirst slide. "That's one thing I have to do, come off the bench and pinch hit. It's really big. Ozzie's had confidence in me before, so I'm out there relaxed.''
After Wise stole second, Cabrera relaxed and lined a single up the middle to lift the Sox to their sixth straight win.
"It was nice, because we came back on the last out,'' Cabrera said. "I was in a good situation and I came through. It's a win-win situation. So many times in that situation, you fail. But when you get a hit, people forget about that.
"I just got a good pitch to hit. Everybody did their job and the pitching was great.''
The White Sox' 17th win in their last 19 games will be hard to forget.
It began with a matchup of two of the best starting pitchers in the league - the Sox' John Danks and the Indians' Cliff Lee.
Danks came with the third-lowest ERA in the AL at 2.62. Lee was second at 2.34 and his record was 11-1.
"You know who you're going up against,'' Danks said. "Cliff Lee has been the best pitcher in the American League all year.''
A sacrifice fly by Ramirez was the only run the White Sox scored off Lee over 8 innings. And a solo home run by Kelly Shoppach was the only run the Indians scored off Danks over 8 innings.
"It was a great ballgame, not just because we won,'' Guillen said. "You see Danks growing up as a pitcher and battling against the best pitcher in the American League. It's fun to see.''
Danks and reliever Scott Linebrink were watching the end of the game in the clubhouse. They weren't overly discouraged when Blake homered to put Cleveland in front.
"We didn't think we were out of the game,'' Danks said.
After winning the AL Central last season, the Indians are reeling this year and they are currently in las place. Guillen, among others, is surprised.
"They have good talent,'' Guillen said. "They're not playing good for whatever reason. But you never know. I think with the talent they have, they should bounce back and be where they're supposed to be. That's my opinion. I hope not. I hope they stay the same.''