Look who's 1st: 15-5 Sox win vaults them ahead of Detroit
Bobby Jenks looked wiped out as he sat in front of his locker Sunday morning at U.S. Cellular Field.
"Looking forward to the (all-star) break," Jenks said. "But I kind of wish we could keep playing."
The feeling was mutual in the Sox' clubhouse, especially after Sunday's 15-5 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Not only are the White Sox hitting the break with an eight-game winning streak and a 25-5 record since June 9, they are in first place in the AL Central for the first time since May 1 of last season.
"We've grinded, we've battled, we've been through some tough times," Carlos Quentin said after sparking the Sox' latest victory with 2 home runs, including a grand slam, and 5 RBI.
"I'm not saying that won't ever happen again, but we fought. We fought the whole time, and these days reflect on it. It's something to be proud of but also something to be motivated by, that we can go out there and continue to win."
The hottest team in baseball had been winning with quality starting pitching, clutch hitting, solid defense and near flawless work from the back end of the bullpen.
While completing the sixth perfect homestand (7-0) in franchise history Sunday, the White Sox' offense exploded against Royals starter Anthony Lerew, who filled in when Zack Greinke was scratched with shoulder discomfort.
The Sox also matched a club record by hitting 4 home runs in an inning. In the third, Alex Rios and Quentin hit back-to-back shots. Later, Andruw Jones hit the 400th of his career and Dayan Viciedo followed with a 432-foot bomb.
"The way things started everybody was like, 'Wow,' but we've brought things back," Jones said. "We look around and we see the talent we have, and we can pull things off. We just can't change it up and stop playing good baseball. We're in first place, so everybody started competing.
"Everybody's started doing little things for us to win. Carlos Quentin's getting locked in and he's driving in guys. I think Paul Konerko and Alex Rios have been doing a good job all year, so it's time for somebody else to start stepping up, and that's what we've been doing."
From Juan Pierre at the top of the order to Gordon Beckham at the bottom, even to pinch hitter Brent Lillibridge, every Sox hitter stepped up and contributed to Sunday's lopsided victory.
Now, the White Sox have three days to rest and ponder how they turned things around so quickly.
"A shock," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "To be honest with you, I think it is a shock just because the way the team was playing, all the negative stuff outside the clubhouse.
"How many games we had to put up to be over .500. How many games we were out of first place. It's a shock how quick we did it.
"I know we are going to compete this year, and hopefully we stay the same way we are right now. We put ourselves in a pretty nice spot and we'll see what happens the rest of the summer."
The baseball summer resumes Thursday, when the Sox open a four-game series at Minnesota.
"It feels great," Quentin said. "It feels great to win. We're fortunate to do that here, over this period. It also feels just as good to feel like you're playing to your potential.
"There are a lot of great players in this locker room, a lot of great character, a lot of fighters. I feel like we're starting to reach that potential."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p>
<p class="News"><b>Power ball:</b> The White Sox hit 4 home runs in an inning (third) for only the sixth time in club history. Carlos Quentin hit 2 HRs for the third time in his last four games. The Sox have hit 31 homers in their last 17 home games.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Shaky debut:</b> In his first start in place of Jake Peavy, Daniel Hudson pitched 4 innings and allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Breaking out:</b> Gordon Beckham had his first 3-hit game since Sept. 12 of last season.</p>
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<li><a href="/story/?id=393359">For Jones, it's a relief to finally get No. 400 <span class="date">[7/11/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=393358">Command issues cost Hudson a win <span class="date">[7/11/10]</span></a></li>
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