– In another one that went down to the wire, the Sox were able to get the key hit and pull this one out. Man, AJ Pierzynski really doesn’t like the Twins, especially after getting pegged. Memo to Minnesota: don’t get AJ mad. He’ll make you pay big time.
– Francisco Liriano did a fantastic job in my opinion. Making his first start for a new team against his former team (I wonder how many times throughout history that’s actually happened for a pitcher), he was able to settle in and pitch a great game. He did walk a bit more guys than we would have liked him to, but his track record will show that’s just the type of pitcher he is. He shouldn’t have even given up those runs in the sixth inning either. When you get two ground balls and a pop-up with one out, you should get out of that without any runs, even with the bases loaded.
– Speaking of that inning, Paul Konerko needs to throw that ball home immediately without hesitation. It happens all the time in baseball: when someone hesitates on a throw, it’s wild. I’ve been told that Morneau was running inside of the baseline on that play, but if he doesn’t hesitate on the throw, that doesn’t matter and the run doesn’t score.
– As far as Paulie goes, it was another rough day in the field for him, and It looks like he’ll be out tomorrow after he rolled his ankle. With an early game tomorrow and an off-day Thursday, I wouldn’t expect PK to push anything if the ankle is sore. However, with there being a chance AJ will sit tomorrow as well (lefty pitcher and day game after a night game), we are looking at a weaker lineup for tomorrow afternoon.
AJ Pierzynski was tonight’s hero, hitting a two-run bomb in the top of the ninth inning (photo via USA Today).
– Offensively, tonight was frustrating, and Nick Blackburn got in a groove there for a while. It was almost as if the Sox wanted to give Brian Dozier infield practice (six ground ball outs to shortstop tonight). However, they found a way to buckle down and get the runs across when they needed it. Blackburn does have an ERA above seven, but we’ve also seen over the years that he’s capable of having great outings like this one.
– Addison Reed is really starting to scare me more and more in the ninth inning. It’s like he never can have a 1-2-3 ninth no matter what. I know that he is going to be the guy back there till he blows a few in a row, and he should get that kind of leeway. However, it’s good to know that there’s another option in Brett Myers if Reed falters.
– Now I’m sure I don’t go as far back as many readers of this blog do, but in the time I’ve followed the White Sox really closely (from about 2003 on, so since fifth grade for me), Denard Span has got to be the biggest Sox killer. Again, I’m sure there are other guys who have done more damage to the Sox in the past, but I don’t remember a guy who has hurt us this often in as many ways as Denard Span has. It was pretty much a given the dude was getting that RBI hit in the ninth, and I’m surprised it was a single. He usually doubles there against us!
It’s Jake Peavy tomorrow against Minnesota’s new ace Scott Diamond. As I mentioned before, I’m expecting a weaker lineup for the Sox tomorrow, one that probably will include Flowers behind the plate and Danks in left (anticipating that Viciedo DHs and Dunn plays first). I think Peavy is really going to have to be on his game tomorrow and go deep into this one. I got one more game here to watch at Target Field (had a much better experience today), so until then, peace out GSB!
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Posted by Luke Stanczyk, GSB! Contributor