Imports sink Detroit, Sox win 5-2.

It always feels good to win the home opener and the White Sox did just that this afternoon, beating the Detroit Tigers 5-2. They managed to do so despite striking out fifteen times. How do you score five runs despite striking out 15 times? You play against a Detroit team that thinks Delmon Young should ever play the field.

Dayan Viciedo led off the scoring with a homerun to left-centerfield in the fifth inning off of an otherwise dominant Max Scherzer. The Sox manufactured two more runs in the sixth. After Alejandro De Aza walked, Brent Morel sacrifice bunted him over to second. A Paul Konerko single extended the lead to 2-0. Then we get some hilarity. AJ Pierzysnki hit a "triple" to right field and Konerko was luckily called safe at home. Thanks Super Joe! Insurance runs were added in the eighth inning when Delmon Young remembered that he is, in fact, horrible defensively.

Click image for the fun.

Jake Peavy had another dominant outing, going 6.2 innings while allowing only two hits, one walk, and two earned runs on Delmon Young's homerun to left. Peavy struck out eight, one hitter shy of his Sox career high. Sox pitching benefited greatly from two spectacular defensive plays by our beloved Cuban fielders. Viciedo closed out the 7th inning with a fantastic diving catch. Not to be outdone, Alexei Ramirez decided to erase the burgeoning threat of runners at first and third with one out and Miguel Cabrera at the plate. Cabrera hit a groundball up the middle that Alexei and Gordon Beckham decided to make something magical out of. Hector Santiago came in and recorded his third save of the young season and the Sox are now 4-2 and only half a game out of first place.

Other things of note:

• Miguel Cabrera took umbrage with an awkward batting box in the top of the first, causing a nine minute delay. He then proceeded to hit a weak flyball to right field on the first pitch afterwards.
• Besides hitting a triple, Pierzynski also managed to throw out Young attempting to steal second in the fifth. No one knows why Jim Leyland sent Young, but we thank him.
• Will Ohman was brought in to face Alex Avila. After Avila singled, Robin Ventura removed his LOOGY from the game. It was pretty nice to see this.
• Gordon Beckham struck out three times. He looks lost at the plate.
• The Wild Pitch Offense scored the fifth and final run.
• Adam Dunn struck out four times, encouraging the boo birds to return early from their winterly migration. Thing is, they at bats were still productive. In those four strikeouts, Dunn saw 30 pitches. The Tigers threw 150 total pitches all game. 20% of those pitches were to Adam Dunn. Attrition, thy name is Donkey.