Indians' Carmona able to keep Sox' hitters down
CLEVELAND -- The White Sox lost the season opener to the Indians on Monday, but they still exited Progressive Field with a slight sense of accomplishment after rallying from a 5-run deficit.
The same can't be said after the Sox fell 7-2 on Wednesday night, and Fausto Carmona can take credit for that.
Showing that last season's 19-8 record and fourth-place finish in American League Cy Young Award voting was no fluke, Carmona was spectacular in his 2008 debut.
"That's what he does,'' Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "That's what a guy that throws 95 (mph) with sink like that can do.''
Carmona is particularly lethal when it comes to getting groundballs in critical situations. Last year the right-hander forced opposing hitters to ground into 132 double plays, tying him for the league lead with the New York Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang.
"You try to get him to elevate, get him up,'' Pierzynski said. "It's real hard to do.''
Carmona got Jim Thome to ground into a double play in the first inning. He doubled up Alexei Ramirez in the second. Carmona got Thome again in the fourth inning.
While allowing 1 run on 4 hits over 7 innings, Thome was the only White Sox hitter to fly out against Carmona.
"Carmona was good,'' Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We did a lot of good things against him, but when he had to make a big pitch, he did. I think that's the reason he beat us. He made the right pitch when he had to.''
Sox starter Javier Vazquez couldn't say the same thing.
Vazquez did record 6 strikeouts in his 5 innings on the mound, but he also allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks. The right-hander settled down after yielding 2 runs in the second inning, but he was out of the game after giving up 2 more runs on 3 hits and a pair of walks in the fifth.
"I think the walks in the fifth really killed me,'' Vazquez said. "I wasn't throwing quality strikes. I was up in the zone a lot.''
Pierzynski agreed.
"He threw the ball well, not great,'' Pierzynski said. "He was just underneath the ball. It was one of those days like (Mark) Buehrle (on Monday). Maybe he was a little too pumped up.''
While he wasn't happy with his own outing, Vazquez raved about Carmona's performance.
"The guy out there pitching for them, he had real good stuff,'' Vazquez said. "He had a lot of movement on his pitches, and you have to give him a lot of credit.''
The Sox will try to avoid getting swept by Cleveland today, but Guillen isn't about to fret over a slow start.
"We did not come here to win 162 (games),'' Guillen said. "There's 160 games to go. In the dugout, I like what I see. I like the energy. Today, we fought all the way to the end. All of the stuff about how we start, that's for the fans and the media.
"It would be nice (to be 2-0), but like I said the other day, it's not how you start but how you finish.''
Indians 7, White Sox 2
At the plate: After failing in his first 6 at-bats, Alexei Ramirez got his first major-league hit, a single in the ninth inning. A.J. Pierzynski also homered in the ninth off reliever Jorge Julio. Pierzynski is a career 5-for-8 with 4 homers off Julio.
On the mound: Starter Javier Vazquez took the loss after allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings. Mike MacDougal looked a lot like he did last season while giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in 2 innings.
-- Scot Gregor