By the fourth inning of the game this afternoon, every batter in the White Sox starting lineup had a base hit.
Seven White Sox players had multiple hits when it was all said and done. Six had multiple RBIs.
Carlos Quentin went 4-for-4 with four RBI. He singled, doubled twice and homered. Gordon Beckham had three hits and scored four runs. He hit a three-run bomb in the second inning. Paul Konerko had two hits and three RBI, including a solo home run. Even Tyler Flowers got in on the action with a two-run shot in the eighth inning.
Lastings Milledge had two more hits for the White Sox out of the leadoff spot. He scored two runs. Alejandro De Aza, in a tight race with Milledge and Brent Lillibridge for the final position roster spot, singled once and reached base on a fielder’s choice. Lillibridge did not play. De Aza had a nice diving catch in the outfield, but this day again belonged to Milledge, who raised his spring batting average to .325. He’s hard to ignore.
Even though the never-ending stream of offense was nice, it was the pitching that was the important thing to take from this game. Look, we know this offense is going to put runs on the board. They even did this without Adam Dunn in the lineup.
Danks, who had walked eight batters in 10 1/3 otherwise excellent innings this spring, walked NONE through his six innings of work tonight. He allowed one run on four hits. This guy is serious. When I say he’s going to be a Cy Young candidate, I’m not kidding. He’s good enough to win the award this year.
Phil Humber also no-hit the A’s through the final three innings to earn a 17-run save. Humber is more and more looking like the guy who will get the final spot on the pitching staff.
This is probably the most encouraging day of the spring so far for the White Sox (Jake Peavy’s last couple starts will probably take the crown when it’s all said and done, but let Danks, Humber and the offense have this one).
Despite battling the flu the past few days, Peavy will try to make his start tomorrow, again against Oakland. He wants the ball and Ozzie isn’t going to take it away from him. However, they will be monitoring him closely, so he might only throw a couple of innings. Guillen said he talked to Peavy and it’s just the flu symptoms that were dragging him down…his arm feels fine.
Check back Sunday to get reaction from Peavy!