Sox end road trip on good note
The first call to Sunday’s postgame radio show should tell you just about everything you need to know about the White Sox and their demanding fan base.
“Why was Adam Dunn thrown out from right field (in the seventh inning)?” the caller asked host Chris Rongey. “Why was he dogging it?”
Wow, talk about nitpicking.
With the infield shift on, Dunn was nailed at first by Oakland second baseman Mark Ellis, who was playing short right field.
Dunn is not a track star, but his failure to beat Ellis’ throw to the bag obviously upset the Sox fan, who are known to pick at scabs with the best of them.
And maybe the White Sox do deserve to be poked and prodded considering they are still 17-24 and 9 games behind the first-place Indians in the AL Central.
But on Sunday, the Sox deserved their most praise since opening the season with two straight lopsided wins at Cleveland.
Not only did they edge the A’s 4-3 at the Coliseum to complete a 6-3 West Coast trip that also made stops in Seattle and Anaheim, the White Sox stuck Oakland ace Trevor Cahill with his first loss of the season.
“We knew it would be close since they have the best pitching in the American League,” Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters. “We battled against the best. This game was huge because we end the road trip on a good note. We need to go home and play better for our fans. They deserve it. We owe them one.”
At least one, considering the White Sox are 5-11 at U.S Cellular Field.
But they appear to be much better off than when they left the South Side for Seattle on May 5 with an 11-21 record.
And maybe they can gain even more confidence after scoring 4 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings against Cahill (6-1).
“It feels good to get this win and gain some momentum for going home,” Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez said through a translator after going 3-for-4 with a solo home run and 3 RBI. Coming in, the Sox were the only team to score more than 1 run in a game off Cahill this season.
That came on April 12 at the Cell, when the 23-year-old right-hander gave up 4 runs in 4 innings.
Cahill allowed 1 run or less in his other seven starts before Sunday, so the White Sox clearly have his number.
“Trevor pitched deep into the game,” Oakland manager Bob Geren told reporters. “He wasn’t quite as sharp as normal. His velocity was down.”
Sox starter Mark Buehrle (3-3) picked up the win after allowing 3 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings, and Sergio Santos overcame a pair of walks in the ninth to earn his fifth save in as many tries while stretching his season-long scoreless streak to 19 innings.
sgregor@dailyherald.com