Sox feel good about win at Tropicana Field
As the White Sox failed to take advantage of scoring chance after scoring chance against the Rays on Thursday night at Tropicana Field, manager Ozzie Guillen had to be thinking about last season.
"There we go again," Guillen said after the Sox played another tight one against Tampa Bay. "It must be something about this ballpark."
Well, it is a dome, and the White Sox had their hands full under the roof in Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Toronto.
On this night, though, the Sox hung on and pulled out a 3-2 win over the Rays in a rematch of last year's American League division series.
"They are a great team and the American League champions until somebody beats them," said White Sox starter John Danks, who got the well-deserved victory after allowing 1 run over 6 innings. "But to beat them in the first game of this series definitely feels good."
The Sox are also feeling good about themselves after snapping a five-game losing skid at the Trop, the last two in the 2008 playoffs.
Coming through with clutch hits has been the White Sox' biggest problem, and that was the case again Thursday.
After Jermaine Dye's 2-run homer off Rays starter Jeff Niemann put the Sox in front in the second inning, it was the same old, same old until the ninth.
The White Sox had a runner on third base with less than two outs in the second inning, the fifth, sixth and seventh and failed to score.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the ninth, they finally came through with a big insurance run when Josh Fields' infield single scored Brian Anderson.
Tampa Bay mounted an expected rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring a run off Bobby Jenks before Gabe Gross grounded out with runners on second and third to end the game.
"Sometimes we don't get it done with people on base," Guillen told reporters after the game. "But I'd rather have a lot of people on base than not have anybody. We had very good pitching today."
It all started with Danks, who is now 4-1 lifetime against the Rays, with all the wins coming at Tropicana Field.
"He's been pitching great," Guillen said. "He made big pitches when he needed to. He's got chance to be special."
Gregor's game tracker
Thursday's grade: It has to be an A. The White Sox often beat themselves in dome games, but they held on against Tampa Bay and should regain some confidence.
Danks a lot: Starter John Danks got the win after allowing 1 run over 6 innings, Dating to last season, the 24-year-old lefty has given up just 1 run in 20 innings.
Run Josh run: Josh Fields tripled for the second straight game. In 125 games with the Sox before this season, he had one three-bagger.
Pods watch: In his debut with Class AAA Charlotte on Thursday night, Scott Podsednik led off and played center field. He was 0-for-4 with an error.
On tap: Bartolo Colon, razor sharp in his season debut vs. the Twins on Saturday, gets the ball tonight. He's a career 9-2 (3.41 ERA) vs. the Rays.