Podsednik leads White Sox over Angels, 4-3 in 10

Posted September 11, 2009 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

Scott Podsednik used his legs against the Angels on Saturday to help the White Sox secure a 4-3 victory in 10 innings and gain some ground in the AL Central.

Podsednik scored the deciding run in the 10th on a wild pitch, and he hit an inside-the-park home run in the third inning.

It was the Sox' first home run that didn't clear the fence since Sept. 9, 2002, when Joe Borchard hit an inside-the-parker against the Kansas City Royals.

"Most fans get excited about the ball leaving the ballpark, but I don't hit a lot of home runs," Podsednik told reporters. "What I bring to the table is my ability to run, so it's always nice to round the bases like that."

The win moved the White Sox past the Minnesota Twins into second place in the Central. They are 5 games behind the Detroit Tigers, who blew a 6-3 lead against the Toronto Blue Jays and lost 8-6 Saturday, their fifth in a row.

The White Sox (71-72) have won 7 of 10 to keep their postseason hopes alive.

"Must-win game," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said after the Sox opened a 3-0 lead against Los Angeles before pulling it out in the end. "No matter how you win it, just as long as you win it."

After Gordon Beckham hit a solo home run off Angels starter Ervin Santana in the first inning to give the White Sox a quick lead, Podsednik circled the bases in the third when Bobby Abreu got a bad read and couldn't glove his drive off the right-field fence.

Beckham followed Podsednik in the third inning with a single, and he scored when Mark Kotsay reached second base on Abreu's error.

Sox starter John Danks pitched 6 scoreless innings, but Los Angeles rallied to tie the game with 2 runs against Matt Thornton in the eighth inning and another run off Bobby Jenks in the ninth.

In the 10th inning, Podsednik led off with a double against Angels closer Brian Fuentes and moved to third on Beckham's single.

A.J. Pierzynski's flyball to center field wasn't deep enough to score the go-ahead run, but Podsednik did come home after Kevin Jepsen replaced Fuentes and threw a wild pitch.

In the bottom of the 10th, Randy Williams replaced Jenks and promptly walked Abreu.

Reggie Willits sacrificed Abreu to second base, and Tony Pena relieved Williams. After Torii Hunter grounded out, White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez smothered a Juan Rivera grounder, which went for a single but kept Abreu from scoring the tying run.

Pena got Mike Napoli to ground out, earning his first major-league save.

*According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, starting pitcher Jake Peavy's bullpen session was pushed from Saturday to Sunday.

If Peavy gets through in good shape Sunday, it's possible he could make his White Sox debut over the weekend against the Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field.

Scot Gregor's game tracker White Sox 4, Angels 3 (10) Great Scott: Scott Podsednik was 2-for-5, raising his batting average to .307. Podsednik hit an inside-the-park HR in the third inning and scored the deciding run on a wild pitch in the 10th. Catch as catch can: A.J. Pierzynski threw out two of three basestealers Saturday. The Sox' catcher is just 18-for-106 on the season, but Pierzynski has thrown out nine of his last 23. Damage control: The Angels had 13 hits off starter John Danks and five relievers, all of them singles.