It was another game that was just what the doctor ordered for our White Sox. In fact, this entire series was just what the doctor ordered. They needed an easy series with some easy wins to get their confidence back. It was a great way to get rolling into a tough seven game stretch.
HIT PARADE
Scott Diamond has been a good pitcher. While he may be tiring out now that he’s in unfamiliar territory in terms of innings pitched, it’s still impressive to tally 10 hits off someone with the numbers of Diamond. The Sox did get a few runs via the home runs of Adam Dunn and Dayan Viciedo, both of which may have not landed yet, but the Sox scored runs in a variety of ways. In fact, they didn’t rely on the home run all weekend long. It’s a topic that many Sox fans have complained about, so it’s good to see the team start manufacturing some runs in other ways.
Adam Dunn hit a ball today that probably is in orbit right now (photo via Chicago Tribune).
REST ASSURED
A big lead after the sixth inning allowed the White Sox to give some of their key guys a few innings off. Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and Alex Rios were all lifted at some point in the game. That is also in addition to Alejandro De Aza and AJ Pierzynski getting the day off. The White Sox have ZERO days off the rest of the season, so anytime Robin Ventura can give some of these guys rest, he certainly will do so. He also avoided using key bullpen arms like Jesse Crain, Matt Thornton and Brett Myers, although I am not a fan of Robin electing to throw Donnie Veal a full inning in a seven run game.
PEAVY AVOIDS THE IMPLOSION
All season long, we have seen Jake Peavy get a lead and give it up right away. He looked like he was headed down that path in the fifth inning today, but he was able to collect himself, limit Minnesota to one run, and pave the way to a big six run sixth inning for the Sox. Even if the pitcher gives up a run or two in an inning, sometimes him getting out of the jam with limited damage shifts momentum.
REMEMBER WHEN…
… we couldn’t beat the Minnesota Twins if they put a little league team out there? That wasn’t too long ago, as the Twins were our boogeyman team as recently as 2010. While we look to have new ones now (Kansas City and Detroit), at least we managed to really reverse the Twins trend this year, ending the season with a 14-4 record against the Twinkies.
NUGGET FROM THE MINNESOTA BROADCAST
With NFL football galore on the television today, I took to MLB.TV to watch the Sox while the NFL occupied the television. Kind of sick of hearing Hawk, I decided to listen to the Twins broadcast. Both broadcasters compared this season’s White Sox to the 1987 Twins, which went 85-77 and won the World Series. They based this off of the Sox hitting a lot of home runs and playing very good defense. It’s nice to see other teams giving the Sox high praise.
BIG GAME TOMORROW
Jose Quintana will oppose Doug Fister tomorrow, and both guys shut down the other team the last time out. Not sure which starter will be the one to cave, but I have a feeling that one of them will get hit around pretty good given how recently each team has seen the other team’s pitcher.