State of the Sox 2010

June 8: Tigers 7, White Sox 2

This disaster unfolded with one of the softest line drives imaginable, one off the bat of Ramon Santiago headed toward Matt Thornton. Thornton was expecting something more difficult, reacting too fast, and then adjusting too late as the ball rattled in and out of his mitt.

With that small step, the Tigers were on their way to a six-run seventh that turned a 2-1 Sox lead into a five-run deficit.

Thornton rebounded by overpowering Austin Jackson, but that would be the last out he’d record. He walked Johnny Damon, and Ryan Raburn followed with a run-scoring liner to right to tie the game.

Oh, but it’d get uglier! Quentin slipped while fielding Raburn’s hit, and his throw sailed a little bit toward Gordon Beckham. The high throw allowed Raburn to reach second, and Beckham’s throw to second hit off Raburn and trickled into left, allowing Damon to score and give the Tigers the lead.

Thornton then walked Miguel Cabrera intentionally, and it seemed like a smart move because it brought Brandon Boesch to the plate. Boesch had struck out three times in three at-bats, and Thornton got two strikes on him. After three straight foul balls and a slider out of the zone, Thornton went back to the fastball.

And Boesch deposited it over the center field fence to blow this game open. Scott Linebrink was salt on the wound, relieving Thornton and allowing a homer to the first batter he faced, Carlos Guillen.

It ruined a good start by Gavin Floyd, who was in position for the win before Thornton’s debacle. The Tigers didn’t make him pay for early baserunners, and he eventually settled down to allow just one run over six innings while striking out eight.

He had a better night than the opposing starter, Armando Galarraga. Coming off his perfect non-perfect game, Juan Pierre spoiled any hope for a repeat performance by leading off with a single.

But Galarraga kept the Sox off the board until the fourth, and an unlikely person would break the scoreless tie. After Paul Konerko lined a single to center, Mark Kotsay turned on a low and inside fastball and muscled it through the strong winds and into the right field seats.

Alas, those were the only runs the White Sox would score. They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Record: 24-33 | Box score | Play-by-play