If it
wasn’t official before, it is now: Juan Uribe is on one of his hot streaks.
Uribe hit a two-run single in the first, an RBI double in the third and a two-run homer in the eighth as the Sox ensured a season split with their crosstown rivals. His average is now up to .241, he’s on pace for 20 homers and 75 RBI. Not bad for somebody who was below the Mendoza Line as recently as 17 days ago.
(I also forgot to mention this in
yesterday’s recap, but he drew his first walk since May 20 against the Pirates. He’s now up to seven on the year in that category.)
Like Jose Contreras yesterday, Garland didn’t hold the lead well in the early going, allowing two RBI singles in the first inning to cut the Sox early lead from 3-2. Garland held down the fort after that, pitching five consecutive scoreless innings, walking one and striking out four. The one walk is a nice sign, but better yet, he hasn’t allowed a homer in four straight starts.
The bullpen held the fort down, with Brandon McCarthy having his
second straight exceptional outing, made easier by Uribe’s late home run. Ozzie Guillen couldn’t help shifting into Ozzie
La Russa mode when he called in Matt Thornton with two outs and no one on with a four-run lead, only because Juan Pierre was at the plate.
Sure, Pierre was having a nice day (3-for-4), but his biggest hit, a triple, was courtesy of another Scott “Manny” Podsednik misplay, in which he dove for a ball he had no chance of reaching. Fortunately, Paul Konerko was able to erase Pierre when he fielded a hard grounder his way and threw home to A.J. Pierzynski, who blocked the plate and tagged Pierre out to preserve the two-run lead. This time, Pierzynski didn’t get
punched in the face.
Konerko’s range is very limited as a first baseman, but his throwing has been exceptional this month. Also in yesterday’s game, he started another 3-6-1 double play off the bat of Jeromy Burnitz. Between Konerko and Iguchi, the Sox right side of the infield may not get to all the balls, but it excels at throwing to the base ahead.
If I have time this weekend, I’m going to take a look at Sox scoring by inning. It seems that tonight’s game reinforced a pattern in which the Sox score early and late, but add nothing in the middle innings. I’m going to look to punch line scores into Excel and see what turns up; if not this weekend, then maybe during the All-Star Break.
Record: 52-27 |
Box score |
Play-by-play