Quentin, Thome, Dye go deep as White Sox win
The day after a nightmare of a night game in which they lost to visiting Boston, lost starter Jose Contreras for the season, and admittedly lost a little of their swagger as they fell out of first place, the Sox used the longball and some clutch pitching to rally from an early deficit and hold on for a 6-5 victory Sunday at sold-out U.S. Cellular Field.
In fact, the only loss for the Sox in this one was the mop of hair starter Gavin Floyd was sporting when he hit the showers after picking up his 12th win.
By the time he walked out, it was all gone.
"Who's the new guy?" Brian Anderson wondered aloud as Floyd made his way back to his locker.
"Oh, my gosh, I feel like I put some menthol shampoo on and it's cooling my head down," Floyd said of his new do. "Bobby (Jenks) and I had a bet in spring training that if I got 12 wins I would have to shave my head.
"To get 12 wins, it's pretty exciting for me. Hopefully I'll keep on going and try to get as many wins as possible. I'm just happy that we won today."
Sunday's victory, combined with Minnesota's extra-inning loss to Kansas City, puts the White Sox back in first place by a half-game in the AL Central.
"I always say we'll see how we bounce back," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Every time you have a bad game and you bounce the way we bounced today, especially when it's 3-0 before you even take the field. . . I think that was a great comeback."
That 3-run deficit after a half-inning came courtesy of Mike Lowell's windblown 3-run homer just over Carlos Quentin's glove and just over the left-field wall.
But Quentin would exact his revenge in the third inning, launching a 2-run homer to tie the game. It was the 32nd dinger of the year for Quentin, who is hitting .381 with 5 home runs and 11 RBI in his last 11 games.
"The only thing that amazes me about him is the consistency," Guillen said. "When you're a home run hitter, a power hitter, most of the time you get in a slump for a week, a couple of weeks. This kid's been at the same level all year.
"It seems like every time he comes to the plate it's in a crucial time and he comes through."
Jim Thome followed with a 2-run shot of his own to give the Sox a lead they wouldn't relinquish - though it got hairy in the eighth when Matt Thornton walked the bases loaded.
But on came Octavio Dotel, who got Lowell to hit into an inning-ending double play.
"I knew I had the bases loaded and less than two outs and coming in to face one of the best hitters that they've got," Dotel said. "I just tried to throw strikes.
"I came through and things came my way and finally we ended it with a double play. It was a perfect time for us because of the situation we are in. We really needed to win this game, especially against those guys. Thank God everything came my way."
White Sox 6, Red Sox 5
On the mound: Gavin Floyd allowed 5 runs in 5 innings to pick up his 12th win. Octavio Dotel came on in the eighth with the bases loaded and induced a rally-killing double play. Bobby Jenks picked up his 24th save.
At the plate: Carlos Quentin continued his power binge, cranking out his 32nd home run in the third inning. Jim Thome also hit a 2-run shot, and Jermaine Dye added a solo homer, his 27th.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=226784">Guillen tired of taps on wallet <span class="date">[08/11/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=226783">Getz intrigues his new manager <span class="date">[08/11/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=226779">Imrem: Quentin the one player Sox cannot do without <span class="date">[08/11/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>