All players wore # 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day
Having already secured the series win over Detroit, the White Sox faithful hoped they would be able to bring out the brooms after Sunday afternoon’s game. Tigers’ starting pitcher Rick Porcello had other ideas. The right-hander, looking for a resurgance in his career, had the sinker ball working well, as Sox hitters beat the ball into the ground all game. And for most of the game, it was just as uneventful as it sounds.
Chris Sale went to the bump for Chicago, and did not have his “good stuff” like he did earlier in the week in Cleveland. Hitting his locations was a big problem, too. If I were you, I’d be encouraged by Sale’s line of 5 IP and 3 ER. It tells us that maybe his previous start against the Indians wasn’t a fluke, and he’s ready to be a staple of a big league rotation immidiately. Luckily for him, that does not mean he has to step up and be the ace this year. We all know that John Danks and Jake Peavy both want that title, which helps not put too much pressure on Sale in his first year as a starter in the majors.
Nope, not the Red Sox. The White Sox wore their red throwback jerseys Sunday afternoon
As far as the offense, I was encouraged by a couple of guys: Dayan “The Tank” Viciedo and Adam Dunn. Viciedo launched his second home run of the season late in the ball game, and continues to hit the ball well. He too may burst onto the scene very early in this 2012 campaign. He’s the kind of guy, like I’ve said before, that shouldn’t ever be in a slump for too long, because sooner than later, the ball will get squared up on one of his vicious rips through the hitting zone. As for Dunn, he struck out in the first inning but bounced back to have a nice 2-4 game including two doubles. He now has more doubles at U.S. Cellular field than he did in all of 2011. “Wow” is right.
So overall, there will be days like this when the White Sox offense just doesn’t click. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the opposing pitcher, which was the case today against Porcello. The Sox move back to 2nd place behind the Tigers by 1/2 game in the AL Central standings, but more importantly won the first head-to-head series against them this season. It’s definitely encouraging heading into an easy chunk of the schedule, with the Orioles and Mariners being the next two White Sox opponents. Of course, that may not mean anything at all, but one of the main things to look for when trying to determine whether your team may be able to contend is if they can take care of the teams that they’re “supposed” to beat. I’m not saying that Baltimore and Seattle can’t compete in any given series, but if the Sox play good solid ball and get good pitching performances, they fully expect to win these next two series.
We’ve played only 7 games, and it already feels like we’ve been on a roller coaster. Well, I better buckle up because the ride is only beginning to start now.
Porcello yielded only 1 run over 7.2 innings pitched Sunday