Jim Thome had two two-run homers and Javier Vazquez, Neal Cotts and Jeff Nelson combined for a two-hit shutout, but the most impressive moment of today’s rout belonged to Juan Uribe.
With Joe Crede on first, Uribe was down in the count 1-2 to Cliff Lee. Normally a dead duck in these situations, Uribe fouled off three straight pitches to work the count to 2-2. The last one sent Aaron Boone tumbling headfirst into the camera bay, giving him a mild concussion.
After the delay, Uribe fouled off another one, and then after watching a pitch in the dirt to work the count full, he sent the 10th pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall to give the Sox a 7-0 lead. The Sox shortstop has yet to catch fire, but with two hits – the other his second infield RBI single in as many games – perhaps this game might serve as a turning point.
Perhaps the same could be said for Vazquez, who avoided the big innings that had plagued him in his three previous starts for his fifth victory of the year. The only scare came in the third inning, when Grady Sizemore and Jason Michaels hit back-to-back singles with two outs. Javy wouldn’t break down this time, inducing a harmless popup from Jhonny Peralta to end the Tribe’s only threat of the day.
The only caveat about Javy’s performance is that even though the Indians couldn’t get anything going, they still forced him to throw 100+ pitches after six innings.
Meanwhile, the Sox offense jumped on Cliff Lee early as Thome gave Cleveland fans something to boo about. After Tadahito Iguchi doubled with one out, Thome drilled his 19th homer of the year to give the Sox a fast 2-0 lead. RBI singles by Crede and Uribe would double the margin before the inning was over. Paul Konerko would hit his 15th homer of the year in the third inning, and Uribe’s blast closed the book on Cliff.
The outburst had significance, since the Sox had been struggling against quality lefthanders this season. The 8-10 record in games against southpaw starters belies the fact that in one start, Barry Zito pitched six innings of one-run ball, and another was started by “that Triple-A (expletive)” Rich Hill.
Given all this, seeing Sox hitters pound Lee into submission was a welcome sight, although it’s nothing new. Lee gave up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings, pushing his winless streak against the Sox to eight games. During that stretch, Lee is 0-4, and has allowed 39 earned runs in 38 2/3 innings. One could say the Sox have his number.
Speaking of numbers, on the day three White Sox pitchers combined to throw a two-hit shutout, the Yankees blanked the Tigers in an identical fashion. Randy Johnson, who was sent from Arizona to New York for a package of Yankees including Vazquez, ended up with the same pitching line as Javy:
6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K
Record: 33-17 | Box score | Play-by-play