Jose Contreras featured a slider for the first time in memory to help quiet the Tigers' bats over 8 innings. In the past, Contreras has been a two-pitch pitcher, (fastball & splitter) but now it appears that he may have a third weapon in his arsenal. He was dropping down to throw a pitch that was breaking away from right-handers at about 88-89MPH. He still had his usual fastball, over the top at about 95 and three-quarters at about 93, both with movement back towards right-handers.
- Jim Thome continued his hot start, with a solo shot in the 4th and a rally starting double in the 6th. He also appeared to draw a walk on 4 pitches in the 7th, but the home plate umpire disagreed. He later grounded out to first on a 3-2 pitch.
- The Sox 8-9-1 hitters have OPS's of .484, .523, and .197 respectively. Every third inning is filled with automatic outs.
- Brian Anderson misplayed a Magglio Ordoneze pop-up off of Bobby Jenks in the ninth. I'm not looking to make excuses for him, but Aaron Rowand had a terrible time reading the ball off the bat when Jenks was on the mound too.
Big Fastball + Big Swings = Fooled Centerfielders
- Scott Podsednik led off the game with a double, then promptly erased himself with a dumb base running play. I can feel an article from the traditional media about him "trying too hard" on the horizon.