No, that is not a misprint. The Chicago White Sox have moved into sole possesion of first place. They have a 1/2 game lead on the Tigers and 3 1/2 on the struggling Twins.
If Carlos Quentin was in a slump, he has certainly broken free from it. The White Sox slugger led an offense that scored 15 runs on Sunday afternoon. Quentin had two home runs, one of which was a grand slam. Not to be outdone, Andruw Jones hit his 400th home run putting him in 46th place on the all time list. Rios and Viciedo also homered.
White Sox starter Daniel Hudson only pitched 4+ innings, and it seemed like he didn’t have his good control. This may have been a result of nerves. He allowed 5 runs on 6 hits. The identity of the fifth starter in the second half remains to be seen.
Tony Pena relieved Hudson while pitching 3 innings and giving up none; Linebrink and Jenks both pitched a scoreless inning.
The White Sox came into this All-Star break by winning an unprecedented 25 out of 30 games. The team is currently on an 8 game win streak, and everything seems to be working. It’s almost inconvenient that the break is here.
Looking ahead..
All-Star Break
7/15
The Sox start a 10 game/11 day road trip beginning in Minnesota for 4 games. Then they will travel to the West coast and visit Seattle and then Oakland for three games. These are all important games coming up, especially the Twins series, as the AL Central race is very tight now.
White Sox fans should go into the break with uptmost confidence because they are the hottest team in baseball. But just like the players do, the fans should take an opportunity to rest, mentally. There is still an entire half of baseball to play.