Jose Contreras may have just had the start of the year.
He may not have come close to matching his strikeout totals from his start against the Reds, and Javier Vazquez has allowed fewer hits in two different starts, but when it comes to timing, context, and the fact that Jose went the distance, I don't see how you can take the honor away from him.
Using only 101 pitches, Contreras tossed a three-hit shutout, walking one while striking out five for his 11th victory of the year. He took a no-hitter into the fifth, when with two outs Curtis Granderson doubled to right. He never allowed two runners in an inning, and retired every single leadoff man. Only Carlos Guillen's second-inning walk and Sean Casey's eighth-inning single put runners on for the Tigers with less than two outs.
He was dominant, the defense was solid (with Tadahito Iguchi and Alex Cintron making some solid plays), and the offense got the job done when they needed to.
Just like they've done
two times this season, the Sox had little problem with Justin Verlander. It looked a little scary through four when the Sox had eight hits but only one run to show for it, thanks to Craig Monroe throwing Cintron out at the plate, and a generous neighborhood play for Guillen on a double play. At that point, Scott Podsednik had scored the only run when he singled, advanced to third when Verlander had a rare errant pickoff throw (he leads the league in pickoffs, even as a righty), and Iguchi grounded out to short to score the first run of the ballgame.
As it turned out, the only run the Sox would need, but that didn't stop them from breaking out in the fifth. Chicago added four more for insurance, when lefties Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski took the Detroit rookie deep with a runner on each time. Thome hit his 35th of the year with Iguchi on, and Pierzynski hit his 10th after a Jermaine Dye single.
Record: 68-46 |
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