The White Sox came home on Friday night to face off against another legitimate playoff team in the Angels. With Phillip Humber on the mound for the Sox and Zack Greinke trying to make a good impression on his new team, it would prove to be a wild one on the South Side.

The dramatics started right away in the first inning, after the Angels posted a run in the top half, the stage was set for the Pale Hose to try to answer back. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Paul Konerko would hit into a 5-2 fielders choice (ground ball to third, force out was taken at home). As the Angels catcher, Chris Iannetta, attempted to throw Paulie out at first, completing a double play, he threw the ball wide to Pujols at first, pulling him off the base and allowing Konerko to reach safely. Well, Angels manager Mike Scioscia felt that Konerko had been illegally running inside the baseline, forcing Iannetta to make an wild throw to first. The umpires didn’t agree and allowed the play to stand (as it is a judgement call at that point), which didn’t sit well with Scioscia, who followed the proper protocol and requested the game be played under protest. Basically, the league will look at the play and evaluate whether or not the umpires got the call right and (more importantly) whether or not that play directly changed the overall outcome of the game. Well it just so happened that the White Sox posted a run on an Alex Rios single, resulting in an Adam Dunn train wreck at home plate, trucking Iannetta who made a fantastic play and held onto the ball retiring Bigun at the plate (but not before Youk came around to score). Well, in true AJ fashion, Pierzynski followed that collision with a three run home run, shoving the Paul Konerko play down the throats of Angel fans everywhere (2005 game 2 of the ALCS anyone?) and giving the Sox the 4-1 advantage.

Phillip Humber did not have his good stuff tonight, allowing the Angels to get right back into the ball game, tying it at 4 by the 3rd inning. Humber went 5.2 innings allowing 6 earned runs on 10 hits and 4 walks. He left the game with a pretty bleak 2 run deficit. But, the Sox would strike back.

In the 6th, Alex Rios homered to bring the Sox within 1 run (6-5 Angels). Not to be outdone, Alejandro De Aza would lace a ground rule double to left, driving in Alexei Ramirez to tie the ball game in the 8th. That RBI double set up by some classic small ball, with Beckham bunting Ramirez to second, setting up the RBI opportunity for Alejandro. The score would remain tied until the 10th inning, with the bullpen really stepping up tonight. Between Jones, Myers, Crain and Thornton (in that order) the bullpen went 4.1 innings allowing no runs and pitching out of some tight jams. Seeing the bullpen shut down one of the best offenses in baseball is a very encouraging sign.

So cue the tenth inning. Adam Dunn leads the inning off with a check swing single (oops! thank you shift) and is taken down for pinch runner Jordan Danks. After a rough at bat for Paulie (capping off a bad night for el capitan) Danks steals second with Rios at the dish. The 32,060 fans at the cell tonight were just  hoping for a little base hit from the red hot Alex Rios….. well they got a little more than that as Rios would turn around a 1-2 fastball from David Carpenter, parking it in the left center field seats sending US Cellular field into a frenzy. A huge win for the White Sox, pushing them to a season high 11 games over the .500 mark.

A quick tip of the cap to the offensive heros of this game and of this season so far:

Paul Konerko, bad night tonight, great year this year.

Adam Dunn, big power year, nice walk total

Alejandro De Aza, a guy who is not getting enough credit. Going 3 for 5 and driving in a big run in the 8th. Alejandro has really been an unsung hero this season. When this guy gets on base, we score runs, its that simple. Not to mention the guy has 42 RBI’s hitting leadoff couple that with a very telling 67 runs scored and its easy to see that he might be the biggest key to our offensive success.

AJ Pierzynski, setting a new career season high home run total tonight, belting his 19th homer on the year while going 1 for 3 with a run score, a walk and 3 RBI’s, this guy is having the best offensive year of any catcher in the league.

And of course, Alex Rios. Going 3 for 5 tonight with 4 RBI’s, 3 runs scored (2 HRs), this man is having himself a season. Finally showing Chicago what he’s capable of, hes been a huge piece for this offense and continues to put the Sox on his back and help them win big games.

Hopefully the Sox can come out and get the win tomorrow. More importantly, hopefully Gavin Floyd doesn’t drive us up the wall tomorrow night, who knows, maybe someone introduced him to the concept of getting ahead of hitters since his last start. Thats going to be a 6:05 start over on WGN tomorrow night, lets win this huge series.

White Sox (34-29): 3
Cardinals (33-31): 5

Floyd inhales of the failure he emanates. (Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE)

Gavin Floyd scared everybody a little bit by working a homerless, scoreless, hitless 1st inning but would calm the faithful down soon enough when he served up back to back doubles to open the 2nd. The feeling of impending Floyd-doom came back quickly in the 3rd inning as 2 more runs cross the plate, these via David Freese HR. As poor as he seemed on the mound Floyd managed to find himself in the 5th having only given up 3 runs; not wanting to disappoint, he loaded up the bases in order to face Matt Adams. Adams put the ball in the direction of Alejandro De Aza but it didn’t hang long enough for Alejandro to get to put a glove on it and two runs would score as a result.

Jake Westbrook was perfect through 4 innings until Paul Konerko poked a single to break it up to lead off the 5th. He was promptly erased by an Alex Rios double play and Westbrook cruised a little longer. The Jake Westbrook show came to an end in the 6th inning when Alejandro De Aza started a two out attack with a single, Gordo knocked a two out single of his own, and Adam Dunn pushed off of his good ankle to send a 3-run shot into the right center stands. Unfortunately, the St. Louis bullpen’s entrance did not signal more scoring for the Sox and the 5-3 score stayed there.

Plus: The bullpen put in 3+ innings of scoreless ball. These days, that’s a moral victory.

Minus: Gavin Floyd is a big fat minus. It’s incredible that only 5 runs hit the plate against Floyd, the feeling in the game was that he was pitching from 5 down as soon as the first went on the board. Floyd managed to serve up a free pass to opposing pitcher Jake Westbrook…twice. Which, incidentally hasn’t ever happened in interleague play for the Sox.

Source: FanGraphs

White Sox (34-28): 0
Cardinals (32-31): 1

My apologies, Mr. Lynn. I am, in fact, afraid of you. (Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE)

Hope would rise on a couple occasions for the Sox. In the 5th Alex Rios lead off by lining triple to left-center field. When the third out was recorded he was still standing there. Orlando Hudson chased Lance Lynn from the game with a single up the middle, only the third hit of the game yielded by Lynn. When Adam Dunn, who was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to a slightly sprained ankle, was called in to bat in the pitcher’s spot, a new hope arose. This hope was stamped out a bit more quickly than the Rios threat, as Dunn grounded into an inning ending double play.

A final threat arose in the 9th, courtesy of Alejandro De Aza, the pitcher’s mound, and Rafael Furcal. De Aza lined a ball back towards the mound and it took a carom that made it difficult for Furcal to play, allowing Alejandro first base. Gordon Beckham was then called upon to lay down the sacrifice bunt. The same Gordon Beckham who has been swinging the bat quite well for a good bit now. He laid down a “successful” one, and De Aza was able to move into second. Viciedo ripped a ball up the middle to follow which was smothered by Furcal. He was unable to make a play at first but he kept the tying run at third. A double play would again bring the threat to a screeching halt, and with it, the game.

Plus: Jake Peavy was solid in his 7 innings of work. He struck out 6 and allowed only 4 hits, unfortunately one of them left the ballpark. That’s the second time Jake’s given up just a single run to earn the loss.

Minus: Sacrifice bunting a runner from first to second lowers run expectancy. If you are playing for just a single run, it still lowers run expectancy. In order for the sacrifice bunt of a runner from first to second to be a play that moves your team in the right direction that batter has to be a below .200 hitter. Gordon Beckham is not that, even if his average does show something only a couple notches above that. It frustrates me to see an out get handed over like that. In the 9th inning, there are 3 of them left in the game, and one was simply given up, without threat, without argument.

Source: FanGraphs