White Sox offense, Dunn bust out under cover of fog
By James Fegan
If you squint through the fog, you can see an effective White Sox offense and a dominant Adam Dunn.
With two home runs separated by a one-hour and six-minute delay for excessive amounts of fog on the field, Adam Dunn powered the White Sox offense to a season-high 10 runs in a 10-6 dinger-laden triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays, giving them a rarely-seen three-game winning streak.
Adam Dunn’s two bombs were part of a four-hit night–matching a career-high total–where he figured into every successful White Sox rally. He led off the second inning with a soft single, which kickstarted a three-run inning off a shaky R.A. Dickey that was punctuated by singles from Jeff Keppinger, Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez, as well as a dribbler from Alejandro De Aza through the middle of the infield that plated a pair. As the fog started to creep in, the White Sox undid the damage done by a first-inning Jose Bautista two-run home run off Dylan Axelrod and jumped out to a 3-2 lead
The next inning Dunn sent a tape-measure blast to center field off Dickey to extend the White Sox lead by a run. Dunn’s shot was obscured by fog, but appeared to go all the way to the U.S. Cellular Field concourse.
It’s a wonder if anyone was able to find it. Only a few batters later, the umpiring crew put the game into delay for over an hour due to excessive fog. When it lifted–slightly–both teams’ ineffectual starters remained, and Dunn punished Dickey again with a three-run bomb to right-center to put the Sox up again at 7-5, and again it was to undo the damage of a Jose Bautista home run off Axelrod, a three-run tater in the top half of the same inning.
For his finale, Dunn dropped a bloop single in front of Colby Rasmus in center field, adding the last run of a three-run eighth inning insurance rally and capping off a five RBI breakout to what’s otherwise been a season to drive in the final rusted nail into his tortured White Sox legacy.
Dunn’s work redeemed a night where the White Sox got a boatload of regression to the mean from Axelrod, who made it through just four innings, and dwarfed his strikeout total (1), with his walks (4) and home runs allowed (3).
In his relief, and through a fog that really didn’t improve significantly after action resumed, the bullpen threw five shutout innings, with only Matt Lindstrom having greatness elude him to the tune of three baserunners in a third of an inning.
Before the outbreak of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth that took away a save from Addison Reed, Jesse Crain was pitching with the game on the line with runners on second and third with two outs in the top half of the inning. A J.P. Arrencibia grounder up the middle threaten to place the Blue Jays ahead, but also gave Alexei Ramirez a chance to showcase his intense range in a clutch situation, as he raced up the middle, spun and fired to beat the Toronto backstop by a step. He also pounded out three hits and scored twice for good measure.
Team Record: 28-34
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