In his last start, Gavin Floyd failed to truly take advantage of a large lead. He pitched well enough, but nibbling and battling limited him to six innings.
He fixed that problem this time around. He needed only 98 pitches through eight masterful innings, including the first nine he faced as the White Sox slowly built a sizable lead beginning with Nick Swisher's two-run homer.
Only Baltimore's best hitters -- Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and Luke Scott -- combined for runs off Floyd, who shut down the rest of the O's lineup with little drama as the Sox piled on.
You know it's a good night when Toby Hall scores from first on a single. After leading off with a single, Cabrera hit a liner with some loft to left-center. Jay Payton missed it with a diving attempt, allowing the ball to get the wall. Hall motored home, and Cabrera had an RBI triple and his third straight plate appearance resulting in a run.
Carlos Quentin racked up his 100th RBI in the same inning, once again making Payton miss on a dive for a double, one of two on the day. Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. had two hits apiece, and even Alexei Ramirez, who went hitless and stranded six runners, had at least a sac fly to his credit.
Record: 76-56 |
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