September 19: White Sox 13, Royals 3
In the bottom of the sixth, Gordon Beckham watched a pitch out of the zone as Jayson Nix tried to steal second.
John Buck rose and fired to second in time to get Nix. On his follow-through, he got Beckham as well.
Buck’s fist came through and punched Beckham right in the nuts, causing Beckham to double over and fall on his ass. A.J. Pierzynski, who knows what it’s like to take a shot to the nuggets, rubbed Beckham’s back with a smirk as Hawk Harrelson and Steve Stone failed to contain their laughter.
If this happened a day earlier, a shot to the groin would’ve been a fitting tribute to this September nosedive. Tonight, it was merely a comedic break during a game full of feel-good moments.
Jake Peavy picked up the win in his White Sox debut. He was touched up for three runs over his five innings, including a rough stretch in the second including a couple singles, a walk and a squeeze bunt. He also gave up an opposite-field homer to Billy Butler in the fourth.
Yet it was more good than bad for Peavy, who showed a fastball between 91 and 93 m.p.h. with good movement and a slider with nice late-breaking action. The combo was good enough for five strikeouts, and two of his five innings were of the 1-2-3 variety.
He also showed that he knows how to win — something John Danks has yet to figure out.
Peavy’s night came to a close with the game tied at 3. The Sox, though facing a rookie lefty, had gotten to Dusty Hughes for runs in three of his four innings when he came out for the fifth. He only lasted one out, leaving with discomfort in his elbow a couple of pitches into Paul Konerko’s at-bat.
Yasuhiko Yabuta relieved Hughes and had nothing. He finished Konerko’s walk, gave up a single to Alexei Ramirez, then walked Jermaine Dye to load the bases. He also fell behind Carlos Quentin 3-0, and he threw one get-me-over fastball too many. Quentin turned on it and sent it into the seats for the game-breaking grand slam.
It was all gravy after that. Randy Williams, D.J. Carrasco and Scott Linebrink combined to throw four shutout innings while the offense piled on, batting around with six more runs in the sixth.
Tyler Flowers recorded his first major-league hit that inning, with a single through the left side off Victor Marte. He came around to score his first major-league run on a bases-loaded single by Paul Konerko.
Everybody but Beckham, who merely singled, reached base twice. Alex Rios had two hits and his first RBI since Aug. 28. Konerko hit his 27th homer, Jermaine Dye singled twice and walked twice, and Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run ground rule double, his 13th two-bagger of the year.
Record: 73-76 | Box score | Play-by-play
