Contreras returns, saves the day for Sox
Jose Contreras returned to the mound Monday night, and he was like night and day.
So were the White Sox.
With the team seemingly in complete collapse mode after a sloppy 5-4 loss to the first-place Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of a doubleheader at U.S. Cellular Field, Contreras returned from his minor-league asylum and helped pull the Sox back together.
"He made a really bad day into a pretty nice day," manager Ozzie Guillen said after Contreras pitched 8 shutout innings while leading the White Sox to a 6-1 win in Game 2.
After going 0-5 with an 8.19 ERA in 6 starts with the Sox, Contreras was pulled from the rotation. Guillen and general manager Kenny Williams wanted the 37-year-old righty to try working things out in the bullpen, but Contreras asked to be sent to Class AAA Charlotte.
"I said, 'How am I going to help the team in the bullpen? I need to work on my pitches and my location. The only place I can do it is AAA,' " Contreras said through a translator. "So I decided to go down there and work on my stuff. It paid off with a great outing, and I can keep going the same way."
Contreras rediscovered his nasty splitter at Charlotte, and he featured the pitch while limiting the Tigers to just 1 hit - Clete Thomas' ground-rule double with two outs in the first inning.
Cruising from there, Contreras turned in his longest start since May 25 of last season and won for the first time since June 27.
"It's always good to win, and thank God we won the second game," Contreras said. "My pitches were there. The split was there. I'm just glad to be back on the team and contributing."
Backup Ramon Castro caught Contreras for the first time, and he had an early indication it was going to be a good night.
"From the bullpen, he was throwing it (splitter) for strikes," said Castro, who was acquired in a May 30 trade from the New York Mets. "When I wanted him to throw it, he could. He was just unbelievable today."
Guillen wasn't sure what to expect from Contreras.
"I think it was exciting for everyone, especially his teammates," Guillen said. "It's something we like to see, not because we win, just because we want to see Jose back and throwing the ball the way we know he can throw the ball."
The White Sox finally hit the ball in Game 2, scoring 6 runs in 4 innings off Detroit right-hander Jeremy Bonderman, who made his first start since June 1 of last season.
Alexei Ramirez hit a solo home run in the first inning, Scott Podsednik had a solo shot in the second, and Jim Thome hit a 2-run homer in the third.
"Offensively, we just came out and swung the bats," Podsednik said. "Alexei got us started with his home run. I think we just fed off of that. That's what it's going to take. It's going to take somebody to step up and provide some energy to get us going offensively."
In Game 1, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko hit home runs for the Sox, but a failure to execute the small stuff irritated Guillen.
He had some choice words for his players - most of which can't be printed in a family newspaper - but the White Sox' manager was much more calm after Game 2.
"I get upset when we lose games," Guillen said. "There's no doubt about it. I criticize the ballclub when we don't do the little things or don't do what we're supposed to do to win.
"The first game, we should win that game. We executed terrible. That's why I got a little upset. But I never said, 'We need to win this many games.'
"No. I said we need to play good every day, and when we don't play good, I don't like it. I wasn't criticizing the team because of losing. I was criticizing the team because of bad execution."
Scot Gregor's game tracker
Game 2: White Sox 6, Tigers 1
He's back: After going 0-5 with an 8.19 ERA with the Sox before being demoted to Class AAA Charlotte, Jose Contreras made a triumphant return to the rotation. The right-hander allowed 1 hit over 8 shutout innings while winning for the first time since last June 27.
Hit parade: The White Sox had 10 hits in the nightcap, the first time they've reached double digits at home since April 29, (12 hits vs. Seattle).
Going deep: The Sox hit 3 home runs off Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman. Scott Podsednik had a solo shot in the second inning, his first HR since May 31 of last season.
Still hitless: Batting sixth in Game 2 after sitting out the opener, Gordon Beckham was 0-for-3 with a walk. The rookie third baseman is 0-for-13 since coming up from Class AAA Charlotte.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=299303">White Sox sign Garcia to minor-league deal<span class="date"> [6/08/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=299206">Sox fumble away chances as Detroit takes Game 1<span class="date"> [6/08/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>