2006 State of the Sox

May 24: White Sox 3, Athletics 2

You could classify tonight's performance as "winning ugly," but we'll take it.  After all, it's the first series sweep of Oakland since 1997. 

Okay, well Mark Buehrle looked good on the mound -- he even trimmed up the permafuzz.  The fast-working lefty went seven innings, allowing one run, which wasn't earned, of course.  He did find himself in a few jams, including leaving the bases loaded in the second, but otherwise he was solid.  He did walk three batters, which is too much for him, but he erased one by picking off Nick Swisher, his fourth pickoff of the year.

The only run Buehrle allowed came when a pitch got away from A.J. Pierzynski to advance Mark Ellis from first to second with two outs.  He'd then score on an Eric Chavez single.  Obviously Buehrle's somebody who relies on his defense, but when he's facing a lefty who can't hit lefties with two outs, he's not owning up to his responsibility.

A.J.'s passed ball wasn't the worst defensive crime of the night.  That happened in the eighth inning, when Jermaine Dye flat-out dropped a flyball that would've been the second out of the inning.  He might've been distracted by Rob Mackowiak, who was running behind him as they apparently couldn't hear each other call for the ball, but Mackowiak didn't make contact.  Dye had two hands up, and the ball just bounced off the heel of his mitt.  Fortunately, Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks retired the next two batters to preserve the Sox lead.

Jenks looked electric once again.  He spun a curve past Jason Kendall for strike three in the eighth, and after inducing a weak comebacker from Bobby Kielty to start the ninth, he froze both Mark Ellis and Mark Kotsay with curves to end the game.  Jenks actually disposed of Kotsay in only three pitches.

Strangely enough, Jermaine Dye also made the defensive play of the game when he robbed Kotsay of a first-inning homer.  He played it perfectly, getting back to the wall in plenty of time so he could just leap calmly and snag it before it hit the top of the fence.

The Sox offense did just enough against a tough Danny Haren to get the job done, and they scored all three runs without the aid of a home run thanks to some nice situational hitting.  Rob Mackowiak, who's on one of his patented hot streaks, was tonight's catalyst as he filled in for Brian Anderson.  He scored the Sox's first run when he led off with a double and scored two batters later on Scott Podsednik's double.  Jim Thome would drive Podsednik in by ripping a single through the shift to give Chicago the lead. 

Mackowiak then came through in the next inning, when he singled with two outs, driving in Jermaine Dye and giving the Sox a 3-1 lead.  He went 2-for-3 on the day to raise his May batting average to .365. 

Record: 31-15 | Box score | Play-by-play