The Blue Jays have lost 6 in a row. They're playing about as poorly as the Sox did in the first 10 games after the All-Star break. And yet this might be--nay, this is the most satisfying victory by the White Sox in some time. Roy Halladay is one of the best pitchers in baseball. The Sox haven't beaten a pitcher of his caliber in quite a while.
Quicky glancing through the 'Losing Pitcher' column on the Sox day-by-day schedule shows two victories against lefties Mark Mulder and Andy Pettitte, but they're really struggling this year. You have to go all the way back to June 6th, a 4-3 victory over the Tigers and Justin Verlander to find the Sox last victory over anyone who can currently be considered an elite pitcher.
Welcome Back Thome & Konerko -- The two sluggers, each of whom spent much of the last week on the bench with nagging injuries, came back and made their presence felt in a big way, combining to go 6-7 with 3BB. They really set the tone in the first inning when they each worked walks in long at-bats as the ran Halladay's pitch count into the 30's. Even though the Sox didn't score in the first, they set the team up to have good at-bats all night, and chase Halladay from the game early. Quite a difference from Ross Gload and Alex Cintron.
I didn't get to see most of the game, so I can't comment on how Garland looked outside of the first couple of innings. I agree with Keith's assessment that his pitch selection to Glaus in the first inning was very poor, but it sounded like he rebounded to post a nice outing.
Overall, it seemed much more like an '05 White Sox game than a '06 Sox contest.
- Pods had a bunt single. Stole a base. And had a clutch 2-out RBI double.
- Patience was the name of the game against a tough pitcher.
- Konerko, Gload, & Dye combined to tack on a hard earned 2-out insurance run.
- Sox pitchers didn't walk a batter, and the only runs they allowed were via the HR.