2006 State of the Sox

May 22: White Sox 5, Athletics 4, Frank Thomas 2

Before the 10th inning of tonight’s game, the Sox had scored eight of their last 10 runs via the long ball.  So tonight they decided to switch it up and score the game-winning run off a picture-perfect bunt down the first-base line.

It came off the bat of Pablo Ozuna, whose previous two-out, last-minute hit was a 370-foot homer into the left field seats.  That’s why he’s the Secret Weapon.

Given the way the Sox burned baserunners off Barry Zito, who walked six Sox yet only allowed a run on a Paul Konerko sacrifice fly, this was a game Chicago had no business winning.  Once it got into Oakland’s depleted bullpen, it was a completely different ballgame.  

The whole 10th inning was an unlikely scenario.  With one out, A.J. Pierzynski drew a walk off lefty Ron Flores – and walking against a lefty is something A.J. didn’t do in 92 at-bats last season.  He went from first to third on Rob Mackowiak’s seeing-eye single through the right side – and Mackowiak was 5 for 22 against lefties entering the at-bat.  Ozuna then bunted the first pitch he saw, and Flores couldn’t get to it in time, his throw pulling first baseman Nick Swisher off the bag.  Ballgame over.

Ozuna was one of the heroes of the game, even though he misplayed a line drive in left which would eventually give Oakland the go-ahead run on third base in the top of the 10th.  Mackowiak was another, hitting his first homer of the year, a two-run job, on the first pitch thrown by A’s closer Huston Street to tie the game at 4.  It was the second homer of the inning, as Jermaine Dye went deep earlier in the eighth off Steve Karsay.

The furious comeback spoiled what was a triumphant return for Frank Thomas.  The Big Hurt got the sweetest a kind of revenge against the organization that he felt spurned him, going 3-for-5 with two homers as the Sox lost their second straight game and fell two games behind the Detroit Tigers.

After receiving a standing ovation, Frank gave a batting-practice fastball from Jon Garland over the left field wall in his first at-bat.  Garland seemed to enjoy the experience so much he threw a similar pitch to Bobby Crosby for the same result – back-to-back homers to give Oakland a 2-0 lead.  Ozzie Guillen felt Garland was getting screwed by our good friend Doug Eddings and was promptly ejected, his second of the year.  Eddings didn't give him the corner on one legit strike before the first Thomas homer, but the Crosby one was all his fault.

Frank struck again in his next at-bat, hitting a long single down the left-field line to move Nick Swisher to third; he’d score on an RBI single.  To top it off, the Big Hurt homered over the left field wall for a 4-0 game.

Yet when he needed to come through, Thomas couldn’t deliver.  After Ozuna’s error put Mark Kotsay on second, Bobby Jenks intentionally walked Eric Chavez to get to Big Frank.  The walk didn't really matter, as AJ couldn't glove a routine fastball and Kotsay advanced to third, and then Chavez stole second uncontested.  On a 2-2 pitch, Thomas popped a fastball up to Pierzynski, which froze the runners.  Jenks then won the battle of the Bobbys by striking out Bobby Crosby on three consecutive curveballs – the last one caught him looking.  

Though it’s been inconsistent on the whole, the bullpen provided the manliest of efforts tonight.  Matt Thornton kept the game close with 1 2/3 innings of perfect relief in which he only threw 12 pitches (nine for strikes).  He came in with a runner on in the seventh and promptly got two outs with one pitch, inducing a 5-4-3 double play from Chavez.  Boone Logan wouldn’t have done that.  

Record: 29-15 | Box score | Play-by-play