Jake Peavy battled to earn a quality start (6IP, 3ER) in "the first start he was excited about in a long time"
Following the White Sox victory over the Texas Rangers, starting pitcher Jake Peavy said “I am proud of the team. It was a team effort. It was a grind.” What a perfect way to put it, Mr. Peavy.
Saturday’s game featured up’s and down’s, followed by some more up’s, then down’s, and then thankfully the bullpen and Alex Rios were able to end it on a positive note. Jake Peavy struggled throughout the first 3 innings, letting up several hits and yielding 3 runs. But after that, he settled down and cruised through the sixth inning. All in all, Peavy didn’t have his best stuff, but still left the Ballpark in Arlington with what we like to call a quality start. Those are pretty hard to come by against the Rangers in that ballpark. I think a great positive can be taken from this; if he pitches so-so and has a line of 6IP 3ER in Arlington, imagine what his stat lines will look like when he does have his good stuff…in a pitcher’s park…against a team like the Mariners or Royals. His ceiling is high, and only time will tell if Kenny William’s deal sending Clayton Richard to San Diego was worth it after all. But for the next five days, we can rest satisfied with Peavy’s performance.
Similar to Peavy, right fielder Alex Rios needs to have a bounce-back year in 2012. He was atrocious in ’11, constantly rolling over on breaking balls and cueing fastballs off the end of his bat. Leading off the top of the 9th facing long-time White Sox nemesis Joe Nathan, Rios cranked a line-drive home run through the swirling Texas winds and over the center field fence to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. Continuing the trend of lock-down relief pitching, Hector Santiago came in and had a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his first career save and lock up manager Robin Ventura’s first career victory running the dugout. For each of these guys, like Peavy, only time will tell. But I’m sure we can agree that it was exactly what the south sider’s needed: a grind-it-out win on the road against the two-time defending American League Champions.
Alex Rios looks to bounce back from his disappointing 2011 season in which he hit .227
The rubber match on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball will be big for the White Sox, as it could propel the squad into AL Central play with a great deal of momentum. Let’s see how far Gavin Floyd’s curveball can get us tomorrow evening. Good night and God bless.