Peavy, Defense Highlight Victory in Home Opener
By Matt Adams
Two opening days down, none to go. In an MLB season that has seemingly had opening days every other day, the White Sox have completed their official, and their home openers, with Jake Peavy giving a strong outing in the latter to move the Sox to 4-2 in the young season.
Tigers: 2
White Sox: 5
Jake Peavy headlined the White Sox victory over the Detroit Tigers Friday afternoon pitching 6.2 solid innings, striking out 8 batters. The only blip on his day being a 2 run HR yielded to Delmon Young just before being removed from the game in the 7th. With Peavy out of the game, the Tigers threatened twice only to have both attempts at a comeback shut down by stellar White Sox defense. The first, a most unexpectedly great play from Dayan Viciedo in the 7th. In the 8th inning, Alexei Ramirez put Miguel Cabrera away with a slick sliding grab to begin a double play to escape the inning.
Plus: Dayan Viciedo. We expect to see some nice work with the bat, and we did, Dayan launched a solo shot in the 5th to put the Sox on the board, but defensively we’ve already pegged him as a liability. His route may not have been the greatest, but laying out for that catch certainly helped keep the win in order. From the grin on his face when he met his teammates afterward, he was pretty pleased with it too.
Hector Santiago stepped up in the 9th and earned his 3rd save of the season in as many chances. Anybody see how Sergio Santos has been doing?
Minus: Adam Dunn and Gordon Beckham weren’t just the only 2 Sox starters not to get hits, but they both looked lost at the plate, combining for 7 strikeouts on the day. I don’t have to tell you, that just won’t do.
Home opener in the books, and it’s a winner. The Tigers are a good team and that’s undeniable, but if today is any indication we should be able to hang right there with them for an exciting season.
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