Still, there was a game to be played, and Juan Pierre and Alexei Ramirez played it well.

In the first, Pierre singled and Ramirez homered to give the Sox a quick 2-0 lead. They stretched it 5-1 in the second when Pierre singled in two, and Ramirez doubled him home with a line drive off the base of the wall.

A Ramirez brain fart prevented a sixth run from scoring. Paul Konerko followed with a single, and Ramirez should have scored easily. But he was looking down while rounding third while Jeff Cox waved him in, and pulled up inexplicably. He was equally confused as to why he stopped, which makes me think he heard something. Pierzynski flied out to end the inning.

Pierre eventually picked up Ramirez with a two-out single in the eighth to drive in Mark Teahen, and they would need it.

The Indians chipped away off Edwin Jackson, who looked dominant at points, but had trouble locating his slider. They scored their first run without a hit, as Jackson couldn’t grab Ramirez’s relay toss on an attempted 3-6-1 double play, and was charged with an error.

Luke Carlin homered in the fifth, and Trevor Crowe shanked an RBI single to cut it to 5-3 in the sixth, which ended Jackson’s day.

And Chris Sale made it closer than he had to be. He breezed through the first five batters he faced, but Luis Valbuena prolonged the game with a single, and Drew Sutton turned on the first pitch for a two-run homer, making it a one-run game and Pierre’s single a big one.

Sale kept the season going long enough. He got Michael Brantley to bounce out to second for his fourth save of the season and Ozzie Guillen’s 600th win.

Notes:

*Konerko just missed his 40th homer with a flyout the warning track, then bypassed an opportunity by letting Mark Kotsay take his place on the field.

*Tyler Flowers singled in his final at-bat, a grounder through the left side. He finishes the year 1-for-11.

*Brent Lillibridge earned yet another golden sombrero, giving him nine strikeouts in his last 10 at-bats.

And so thus ends yet another year of State of the Sox.

Record: 88-74 | Box score | Play-by-play

Buehrle and his counterpart, Carlos Carrasco, found themselves tied at 2, even though the offenses didn’t have much to do with it.

The Sox scored their first two runs without a hit. Leadoff walks in the first and second came around to score:

*Juan Pierre made it to second on an error by Asdrubal Cabrera, advanced to third on Paul Konerko’s fly to right, and stole home on a double steal. The Indians went for the double play on Mark Teahen’s strikeout, but Omar Vizquel was safe at second, and Pierre scored standing.

*Tyler Flowers walked, moved to second and third on groundouts and scored on a Carrasco wild pitch.

The Indians were good for some base hits off Buehrle, and put their first run on the board with back-to-back first-to-thirds. A Buehrle balk — legitimate, this time, as he hesitated when coming to a set — scored the other one.

Buehrle settled down, but Carrasco didn’t. Dayan Viciedo was a big reason why.

Viciedo got the first hit in the fourth inning, a double off the right-field wall. He’d move to third with two outs after a Tyler Flowers walk and a Brent Morel flyout, and Alejandro De Aza doubled him home with a fly over the head of a drawn-in Trevor Crowe.

Brent Lillibridge came to the plate. He earned a golden sombrero on Friday night, and struck out in his first plate appearance, too. So, of course, he lined a single to right center to make it 5-2.

Viciedo then finished what he started. On a 3-2 pitch, he ripped a changeup (or splitter) into the left-field bullpen.

Lake-effect rain ended this game early. Hopefully we can get 12 innings tomorrow.

Record: 87-74 | Box score | Play-by-play

The Indians greeted Pena with two doubles and a homer, and the game was lost at the start. Pena gave up three runs in the first and three more in the third, with the Sox lacking the firepower to respond.

The Sox put up a little bit of a fight at the start. Dayan Viciedo drilled the first of two RBI singles up the middle in the first inning, and Brent Morel turned on a first-pitch fastball and knocked it off the foul pole to start the second, cutting the lead to 3-2.

Morel was the star of the game, adding two terrific diving stops in the fifth inning. The first one was incredibly difficult, a rocket off the bat of Jayson Nix that Morel snagged behind him. The second was routine.

Notes:

*Brent Lillibridge went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He pulled off everything. He also committed his fourth error, on a relay throw that skipped past A.J. Pierzynski and got past Lucas Harrell, too.

*Along with the two RBI singles, Viciedo drew his second walk of the season, and on a full count to boot.

Record: 86-74 | Box score | Play-by-play

The Captain did what his teammates could not do on Wednesday — find a way to get the big hit with the sacks packed and blow the game open. And he did so against one of the best pitchers in the league.

Jon Lester would not get his 20th win tonight, and he didn’t deserve to. He had two outs and a runner on second when he issued back-to-back walks to Juan Pierre and Alexei Ramirez, which is no easy feat. That set the stage for Konerko.

Lester got ahead of Konerko 1-2. Konerko laid off a curve in the dirt, and a cutter that just missed the outside corner to work the count full. After one more foul ball, Konerko got a high fastball and ripped it into the left field seats for the grand slam. Fans demanded a curtain call for his 39th homer, and he obliged.

That was the cushion John Danks needed. It was a rocky beginning for both starters, as they encountered efficiency issues from the get-go. Danks used 47 pitches through the first two innings, and then squandered a 1-0 lead by serving up a two-run homer by Victor Martinez. An eight-pitch fourth calmed his nerves, and he was able to work six innings for his 15th victory of the season.

Not so for Lester. In the fifth, he gave up a single to Ramon Castro, followed by a two-run, opposite-field shot by Dayan Viciedo. He then walked Brent Morel on four pitches, and his night was done.

Notes:

*The stadium lost power for more than 20 minutes in the bottom of the sixth inning.

*Brent Morel made a terrific backhanded stab on a hard-hit grounder deep along the third-base line, then made a great peg to save a run in the second inning. Later on, he avoided running into a tag on a grounder to second, then beat the return throw to second to avoid a double play. Take notes, Manny.

*Alexei Ramirez committed an error on a far-too-casual throw, one we hadn’t seen in a while. Still, Adrian Beltre should have been out, as he ran around Viciedo’s tag, and never touched first.

*Konerko fell just short of his 40th homer in his at-bat after the grand slam.

*Sergio Santos looked terrific in his two innings of work, striking out the side in the seventh.

Record: 86-73 | Box score | Play-by-play

Carlos Quentin brought the defense right away with a brilliant diving catch in right-center for the first out of the game. The offense took a little longer to show up, but provided enough runs to give Garcia his 12th win of the season.

It was tied 1-1 through seven, with both Sox doing damage in the fourth inning — a David Ortiz RBI single in the top of the inning, and an A.J. Pierzynski solo shot in the bottom of it.

They didn’t score again until the seventh — which was problematic, since they loaded the bases in the fifth and sixth with nobody out and failed to score a single run. Omar Vizquel and Brent Lillibridge (playing for Quentin, who of course hurt himself on that awesome catch) struck out in the fifth, and Brent Morel grounded into a 4-6-3 “double play” to thwart a sixth-inning rally.

(“Double play” is in quotes because Morel was safe by half-step at first, meaning Derryl Cousins kicked that call, and Jed Lowrie’s foot wasn’t even on second when he caught the throw at second.)

The fifth-inning offenders didn’t let Josh Beckett off the hook in the seventh. Vizquel finally cracked the tie by not letting the bases get loaded. After singles to start the seventh, Vizquel lined his 2,799th hit back through the middle to make it 2-1. Lillibridge then dropped down a perfect bunt, and Victor Martinez threw it away, allowing another run to cross.

Alexei Ramirez finally got the Sox off the schneid with the sacks packed with a single through the left side for one more run to score. But with nobody out, Hideki Okajima prevented further damage. Pinch-hitting Manny Ramirez struck out looking, and Mark Kotsay grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, making him 0-for-25 with the bases loaded.

The Red Sox chased Garcia with a Mike Lowell solo homer and a single, which narrowed the lead to 5-2, but J.J. Putz and Matt Thornton (four-out save) closed the door. Juan Pierre got the run back with — you guessed it — a run-scoring double play.

Rec0rd: 85-73 | Box score | Play-by-play

Viciedo came to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs, deployed by Ozzie Guillen to face lefty Dustin Richardson. Terry Francona countered with Mike Fox, who got two strikes on Viciedo.

He couldn’t put him away. Viciedo reached out and hit a liner into left field. Daniel Nava dove … over it. Juan Pierre touched the plate, and the White Sox added insult to injury, as the Red Sox were eliminated from contention earlier in the night.

It was a satisfying night of baseball, with the offense powering past another early hole. Edwin Jackson allowed three runs through three, and then gave up a David Ortiz solo shot after Carlos Quentin hit a two-run shot to get the Sox back in it.

Quentin started the comeback in the seventh with a single off Adrian Beltre’s mitt. After a wild pitch, Alexei Ramirez singled to put runners on the corners and chase John Lackey from the game.

Rich Hill got pinch-hitting Andruw Jones to pop out, but Brent Morel grounded a single through the left side to make it 4-3.

In the eighth, Manny Ramirez started the inning with a tough walk off Daniel Bard. Pinch-running Brent Lillibridge stole second and came around to score on an opposite-field double by Paul Konerko. A.J. Pierzynski did his job with a grounder to the right side, but Quentin popped out and Jones struck out to keep it tied.

While Chris Sale kept the Red Sox in check through two innings, the Sox had one more rally up their sleeve.

With one out, Pierre hit a soft infield single to short. Omar Vizquel put all his might into a fastball … but flied out just short of the warning track. Pierre then stole second and third (the Sox ran wild on Jason Varitek) while Mark Teahen walked. That set the stage for Viciedo, and he took advantage of it.

Record: 84-73 | Box score | Play-by-play

Backed by Clay Buchholz’s strong X innings, the Red Sox preserved their hopes with an easy, easy victory.

Following the path of John Danks and Tony Pena, Mark Buehrle allowed two first inning runs. Unfortunately, he would allow a couple more, and the White Sox weren’t up to the task of making up the deficit against Clay Buchholz.

Buehrle retired the first two batters he faced, then got ahead 0-2 on Victor Martinez. Four foul balls later, Martinez shot a single through the right side, and that seemed to throw Buehrle off his game. He allowed four straight hits, and only escaped the inning because David Ortiz got the green light attempting to score from second on a single to right. Carlos Quentin threw him out.

After that, it was a quiet night. The White Sox threatened twice. A Quentin walk and an Alexei Ramirez double put runners on second and third with nobody out. Nobody would score; Brent Morel lined out hard to left, Juan Pierre struck out, and Omar Vizquel chopped out to keep it a 3-0 game.

Morel finally got his sac fly in the fifth, but that would be the only run. The Sox flashed warning track power all night, but couldn’t quite square a very good Buchholz up.

Buehrle’s start could have been worse. He gave up 11 hits over his six innings, but managed to avoid the huge inning. Martinez and Adrian Beltre bled him dry all night. They combined to go 7-for-9 with four RBI.

Notes:

*Manny Ramirez made no effort to prevent a 3-6 double play, jogging to second after A.J. Pierzynski grounded to first. He could’ve beat it out if he ran hard.

*Quentin had a nice night, singling, walking, getting hit by a pitch, and recording two outfield assists. Hitting the cutoff man led to Ryan Kalish getting caught off first base.

Record: 83-73 | Box score | Play-by-play

For the second time this season, Pena earned the “W” while Weaver took the loss. And this time, Pena filled in for an injured starter from the get-go. The Angels got to Pena early, but the Sox got to Weaver late and sealed the sweep.

Pena gave up all three runs in the first. Peter Bourjos reached to start the game (Alexei Ramirez played one too many hops and Bourjos beat the throw), and line drives followed. Torii Hunter’s single was a big one, because it made it a 2-0 game, and also because Alejandro De Aza missed the cut-off man and Hunter advanced to second. He scored on a groundout and a single to put the Sox in a deep early hole.

It didn’t look like they were climbing out of it against Weaver, who had five strikeouts through three innings. The Sox did get help from the Angel defense to make the task easier.

They scored their first run in the second when Mark Kotsay reached on a throwing error. Alexei Ramirez doubled him to third, and Mark Teahen drove him in with a sac fly to right to make it 3-1.

Weaver held them down until the sixth, when he made the mistake of allowing Juan Pierre to flare a single to left to start the inning. He stole second and came around to score on Carlos Quentin’s single through the left side.

He didn’t escape the seventh, though he should have. He had two outs and a runner on second when he got Juan Pierre to hit a deep fly to left field. Bobby Abreu took a circuitous route and couldn’t catch up to it, giving Pierre an RBI triple. Omar Vizquel then shot a hanger through the middle to drive in what turned out to be the game-winning run.

Sox pitchers got the help Weaver didn’t. He faced runners on the corners with one in the second inning, but got a strike-him-out-throw-him-out, as A.J. Pierzynski gunned down Bourjos. He induced a more traditional inning-ending double play in the fifth, a 6-4-3 featuring a great turn by Vizquel.

Pena also had the help of Scott Linebrink and Matt Thornton to preserve the win. Linebrink threw a scoreless inning, and when he allowed a leadoff single in the eighth, Matt Thornton retired the next three in order.

Ozzie Guillen stuck with what worked, letting Thornton work the ninth. Easy Heat had an easy time of it, finishing the game by striking out Bourjos for his seventh save.

Record: 83-72 | Box score | Play-by-play

Danks allowed the two Angels runs in the first inning, starting off shakily with a leadoff walk. Two opposite field hits later, the Sox trailed 2-0.

Fortunately, the Sox were facing Scott Kazmir, who they handle pretty well. Tonight was no exception, as they got to him for four third-inning runs to put Danks back in control. Brents led the way — Morel singled and Lillibridge walked. Juan Pierre bunted them over, and Alexei Ramirez drove them both in with a single to left to tie it.

The boys didn’t stop then. Ramirez advanced on a passed ball, then scored on an Alex Rios double to left-center. Two batters later, Manny Ramirez plugged the other gap with a double of his own to give the Sox a 4-2 lead.

Ramon Castro chased Kazmir with a solo homer over the center field fence, and it was pretty easy from that point on. Danks worked around a couple of leadoff men reaching for a relatively uneventful last seven innings, and after a J.J. Putz four-pitch walk, Chris Sale got a double-play ball (nice turn by Lillibridge) and a strikeout to end it.

Notes:

*Morel enjoyed his first two-hit game with a pair of singles, and also stole his first base — though he may have been out.

*Pierre executed a successful squeeze bunt in the seventh.

Record: 82-72 | Box score | Play-by-play

Garcia threw six innings of one-run ball, allowing one run on four hits and two walks, and pitching around some shoddy defense, too.

Howie Kendrick scored the Angels’ lone run when he tripled to lead off the fourth. A good right field catches that deep drive; an average right field holds him to a double. But Mark Teahen was out there, and a walk and a single later, Los Angeles held a 1-0 lead.

Teahen then ended up saving at least a run after Torii Hunter’s single when he made a great running catch on the warning track to rob Hideki Matsui of extra bases. Go figure.

It was more good than bad when it came to support. Alexei Ramirez started the game by committing his 20th error on a well-struck Peter Bourjos grounder to his backhand side, and then didn’t quite get the glove down on a hard-hit one up the middle that could have started a double play.

Even uglier, Alex Rios dropped a liner off the bat of Bourjos to start the sixth. A.J. Pierzynski threw him out at second on a pitchout to thwart the rally. Kendrick then singled to center, which Rios played into a double with a far-too-casual throw. Bobby Abreu reached with an infield single, then stole second to put two runners in scoring position with one out.

Garcia got out of it himself, striking out Hunter, and after an intentional walk to Matsui, getting Hank Conger to ground out. That was the end to Garcia’s night, and it was on a fitting note, cleaning up the mess of others. Garcia was his own best defense, oddly enough, snaring a Matsui liner that first ricocheted off his upper right thigh in the second inning. It looked like that might lead to a third straight injury-shorted outing, but he stayed in the game.

He didn’t stay in the game long enough to get a second run of support. For the first eight innings, Paul Konerko’s fifth-inning solo shot was the only run on the board. The Sox ran themselves out of another run in the second. Alexei Ramirez singled, stole second and moved to third on a bad Conger throw, all with nobody out.

He didn’t score. Teahen struck out, and then Ramirez broke the wrong way on a Brent Morel liner, getting doubled off to end the threat.

The second run wouldn’t come until the ninth. Juan Pierre walked with one out, moved to second on Omar Vizquel’s single (he should’ve been at third, but he held up for some reason), and came around to score on Rios’ single up the middle.

At least the second-most worthy pitcher ended up getting the “W.” Matt Thornton almost vultured it by getting a pop-out to end the eighth, but Ozzie Guillen kept him in there to finish the job. He struck out the side in the ninth, including two on sliders.

Record: 81-72 | Box score | Play-by-play