2008 State of the Sox

May 2: Blue Jays 2, White Sox 0

It seems that the White Sox and Blue Jays didn't really have to play this game since Mark Buehrle and Shaun Marcum took the mound.  They could've merely extrapolated from previous events in the past when 1) Buehrle faces Toronto, 2) has to work around an error and 3) Marcum shut down the Sox the last time.

Buehrle lost 2-0 while pitching a complete game -- which has happened before -- with both two runs unearned sparked by a Joe Crede error -- which has definitely happened before -- while Marcum made the Sox look pedestrian -- which has happened before.

Crede shortarmed a throw on a Scott Rolen grounder with two outs, and Nick Swisher couldn't make the pick.  Vernon Wells followed with a ground rule double down the right field line, and then Shannon Stewart, after going down 0-2, bounced a single through the middle (on a pretty good pitch) to give the Blue Jays the only run they needed.

Buehrle was otherwise sharp.  Unfortunately, so was Marcum, with help from the White Sox "offense."  A pair of Orlando Cabrera singles were all the Sox could muster with the bat, and unfortunately, neither of them came during the only threat the Sox mustered.

Marcum lost control with two outs in the seventh.  He walked Carlos Quentin on four pitches, Crede on six, and then Jeremy Accardo came in and he walked Brian Anderson on six pitches.  But that brought Juan Uribe to the plate, who flew out to right to end the inning.

Toronto only threatened one other time, also.  The Jays put runners on second and third with no outs after a pair of singles by the guys who hurt Buehrle in the first inning, Wells and Stewart.  It might've also featured the defensive lapse that dooms Buehrle, as Anderson made a terrific throw that almost got Wells at third, but allowed Stewart to take second in the process.

Buehrle battled back, striking out Lyle Overbay on an outside slider and freezing Gregg Zaun on an outside-corner fastball.  Adam Lind hit a hard grounder down the first-base line, but Swisher picked it on a slide and tossed it to Buehrle for the third out.  He keps the Jays quiet the rest of the night, and the Cheat has some pitch info.

Cabrera probably had his finest all-around game in defeat.  Along with the team's only two hits, he made a brilliant start on a 6-4-3 double play.  Wells hit a grounder up the middle, and Cabrera dove, snagged it and shoveled it to Uribe with his glove.  Uribe made the quick turn and got Wells by a step.  In the seventh, he made a barehanded pick on an Alexis Rios chopper and skipped a throw to Swisher for the second out.

On the other hand, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome both earned hat tricks, striking out three times apiece.  The Sox whiffed 11 times on the evening.

Record: 14-13 | Box score | Play-by-play