Former White Sox Matt Thornton pitches in 18-inning NLDS Classic
Oct 3, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Matt Thornton (46) pitches in the eighth inning in game one of the 2014 NLDS playoff baseball game at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: H.Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports
You may or may not have watched the 18-inning classic NLDS game on Saturday night where the San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals, 2-1 in 18 innings to take a two-game lead in the postseason series.
If you did watch it, you saw a former Chicago White Sox relief pitcher be apart of that history in Nationals reliever, Matt Thornton.
The former late-inning reliever of the White Sox from 2006-13, pitched the 11th inning for the Nationals on Saturday night at Nationals Park. The hard throwing reliever allowed no runs or hits, but did walk two in the one inning of work.
Thornton did have one strikeout in the Game 2 loss.
The 6-6, left-hander has pitched in both Nationals NLDS losses, allowing no runs in his two NLDS appearances. During the ’14 regular season, Thornton has a 1.75 ERA in 36 innings pitched. He allowed seven runs in 64 games.
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When Thornton was with the White Sox, I always enjoyed watching him pitch because it usually meant the White Sox were still in the game, and had a chance to win. Plus it meant we were going to see some strikeouts.
In parts of eight seasons with the White Sox, Thornton totaled 486 strikeouts, with a 3.12 ERA.
The White Sox traded him to the Boston Red Sox last year for minor leaguer Brandon Jacobs on July 12, 2013.
Opponents hit .244 off him this season in Washington, plus he walked eight batters, and added two intentional walks in ’14. He was 0-for-4 in save opportunities.
October 4, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe (5) reacts after striking out in the fourth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in game two of the 2014 NLDS playoff baseball game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Also on Saturday former White Sox infielder Juan Uribe, a member of the ’05 World Series championship team, was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 3-2 Game 2 NLDS win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
In two postseason games thus far, Uribe is batting .111.
Uribe played for the White Sox from ’04-08.
In ’14 with the Dodgers (his 14th MLB season), Uribe batted .311 in 103 games (386 at-bats) with 23 doubles and nine home runs. He also collected 54 RBIs and walked 15 times.
Both NLDS series are off Sunday.