Sox Spoil Garland’s Homecoming, Dunn’s Woes Worsen

Jon Garland, a member of the 2005 Championship team, faced his former mates for the first time Saturday, but things didn’t go quite how he hoped they might.

In his last U.S. Cellular Field appearance, Garland pitched a complete-game shutout over the Kansas City Royals on September 26, 2007.  He finished 10-13 with a 4.23 ERA that season before parting ways with the White Sox.

Things were a little different Saturday, as Garland lasted only 3 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the year. He surrendered seven runs on 11 hits and was not fooling anyone. The White Sox beat the Dodgers 9-2 to even the series.

Garland said after the game he and catcher Rod Barajas were on different pages so he never got to incorporate his off-speed pitches the way he wanted to.

Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez had three hits apiece and drove in seven of the team’s nine runs. The White Sox batted around in a six-run fourth inning, Konerko’s second single of the inning was the final blow to Garland as Dodgers manager Don Mattingly came out to give him the early hook.

Mark Buehrle improved to 4-3 on the year with another solid outing. He tossed seven innings and allowed two runs on seven hits.

Carlos Quentin was scratched just before game time with a bruised left knee. He is listed as day-to-day. His replacement, Brent Lillibridge, came out swinging. Lilli had two hits and two RBI, including a homer in the seventh inning.

Adam Dunn had a day to forget, striking out four times in five at-bats. His first strikeout earned boos from the crowd. He tossed his bat and batting gear after the second strikeout. A foul ball off his bat struck and injured a fan during his sixth-inning at-bat…he struck out on the next pitch. Then Dunn collected his golden sombrero with a backwards K in the eighth.

It was Dunn’s first four-strikeout performance of the year, but he’s struck out in 14 straight games and 57 times in 142 at-bats on the season.

Something’s gotta give soon, but Dunn has worked his way into the fan base’s doghouse, each strikeout magnifying his struggles as his average has once again dipped below .200.

The rubber match of the series Sunday pits Hiroki Kuroda against Edwin Jackson. Jackson, who has been the least consistent starter on the White Sox this year, was drafted by the Dodgers in 2001 and spent the first three years of his career in L.A.