2008 State of the Sox

May 6: White Sox 7, Twins 1

Gavin Floyd flirted with a no-hitter earlier this season when he started out with 6 1/3 hitless innings against the Tigers April 12.  This time, he could actually see the finish line, but a good hitter beat a good pitch.

With 25 outs under his belt, Joe Mauer took an inside-half fastball and drove it to the left-center gap.  Nick Swisher made a valiant effort with a dive but didn't have a chance.  The ball hit the ground, bounced to the fence, and Mauer had broken up Floyd's shot at history with a double.

Ozzie Guillen pulled Floyd to a standing ovation from the crowd at U.S. Cellular Field, perhaps because Floyd had no shot at a shutout.  Thank Carlos Quentin for that one.  With nobody out and Mauer on first in the fourth inning, Quentin dropped a fly after a sizable run toward the line.  It was definitely an error, and Quentin's second drop of the year.  A couple of flyballs later, Mauer crossed the plate, giving the Twins one run on no hits.

Quentin aside, the Sox played good defense all night long.  Minnesota speedster Carlos Gomez tested Orlando Cabrera twice -- one on a hard grounder that Cabrera had to hit the turf to snag, and another one on a chopper that Cabrera had to run and gun to first, getting Gomez by a full step.

Though the finish was disappointing, it was unthinkable considering the way Floyd started, walking two batters in the first inning and facing a strike zone that was tight for both teams all night long.

And fortunately, when Mauer broke up Floyd's no-hitter, at least he didn't stand on second representing the tying run.  That's right: A White Sox starter actually received run support.

The Sox jumped on Nick Blackburn early for two first inning runs, even though it featured the patented blown opportunity with a runner on third and less than two outs.  Paul Konerko's flyball to center was too short for Cabrera to test Gomez's arm.

But Jermaine Dye picked up Konerko with a single through the middle for the first run of the game, and Quentin made it 2-0 with some excellent hustle.  He went from first to third on the single, and Gomez's throw to third got away from Lamb.  He got up and ran home, and while Lamb's throw beat Quentin by plenty, it was too low for Mauer to get a clean handle of it.  He lost control of the ball as Quentin slid in safely for a 2-0 lead.

The lead was the Sox's first since the first inning of their last game against the Twins April 30, and they'd stretch it throughout the night.  Juan Uribe followed in Dye's footsteps with a two-out single in the fourth after Joe Crede couldn't score a runner from third to make it a three-run game.  Jermaine Dye led off with a solo homer in the sixth (ninth solo shot in a row), Quentin scored two with a single up the middle in the seventh, and Crede doubled home A.J. Pierzynski in the eighth.

Record: 15-16 | Box score | Play-by-play