After a month of watching losses pile up – a theme that continued Sunday with a loss to the Orioles – Gordon Beckham is finally starting to see some hope for the future.
“If we played the way we did today we are going to win a lot of games,” said Beckham.
Following their 6-4 loss to the Orioles this afternoon, the Sox are now 3-15 in their last 18 games, and 0-3 to start their current six-game homestand. Despite taking the loss, there was plenty for Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to like about the future outlook of his team.”
“At least we had someone on base. That’s a good sign. That’s a positive sign. We had a chance to make it interesting. We have not been doing that for the last week and a half,” said Guillen. The Sox are now 1-16 with runners in scoring position through the first 3 games against the Orioles, a series that will conclude tomorrow night.
Gavin Floyd (3-2, 3.48 ERA) went 6 innings, giving up 6 earned runs on 7 hits while striking out 5. Floyd held the Orioles scoreless in 4 of the 6 innings he pitched, and gave up 5 of his earned runs in the top of the 5th.
Mark Reynolds led off the Orioles half of the 5th with a home run to deep left-center field. Felix Pie followed with a triple that sent centerfielder Alex Rios crashing into the outfield wall. Robert Andino and Brian Roberts loaded the bases with back-to-back walks. Orioles rightfielder Nick Markakis then cleared the bases with a double to left-center field. Floyd looked like he might stop the bleeding there after striking Derek Lee out looking and getting Vladimir Guerrero to fly out. Luke Scott then capped the 5-run inning with a single to right-center field that scored Markakis.
After the game, Floyd said, “I got behind. Getting behind guys is definitely not the way to go. Walking a couple of guys is not the way to go.” He continued, “You have a good inning, and then you have one explosive, bad inning. Unfortunately, the game of baseball is a tough game.”
Late in the game, the Sox finally got some offense going off of Orioles reliever Jim Johnson. To start the inning, A.J. Pierzynski grounded out to Andino, and Mark Teahen (pinch-hitting for Brent Lillibridge) flied out to Pie in left, who moved there after Adam Jones replaced Luke Scott for defensive purposes. Beckham started the rally with a walk, and Adam Dunn blasted a home run to left-center field to close the gap to 6-4. It was Dunn’s 3rd home run of the season.
The Sox trailed 6-2 entering the bottom of the 9th, and looked to complete the comeback against Orioles reliever Kevin Gregg. Alexei Ramirez led off with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Carlos Quentin. Paul Konerko then struck out looking on a pitch that was a borderline strike. Following Konerko, Rios struck out on an equally questionable call that led to him being ejected and Guillen coming out to calm him. Guillen was on his best behavior, as could be expected coming off of his recent two game suspension for critical comments and tweets.
Post-game, Konerko wouldn’t blame the late-inning struggles as the reason for the loss, “The whole game is 9 innings. You don’t just lose at the end.”
In the bottom of the seventh Jason Berken relieved starter Zach Britton (5-1, 2.63 ERA) and gave up a lead-off double to left-center field to Beckham. A Brent Morel pop out preceded back-to-back walks issued to Juan Pierre and Ramirez that loaded the bases. Johnson then relieved Berken and got Quentin to pop out to Roberts in shallow rightfield. Paul Konerko worked a walk that forced in Beckham, but Alex Rios ended the threat with a groundout to Reynolds.
Game Notes
Lillibridge hit his 3rd home run of the season, while Beckham and Konerko both collected two hits. Pierre was on base 4 out of 5 times, including 3 walks.
For the Orioles, Zach Britton picked up his 5th win of the season. Former Cub Felix Pie had two hits. Luke Scott hit his 5th home run of the season.
After the completion of the series tomorrow night against the Orioles, the Sox will host the Minnesota Twins starting Tuesday night.
Uncategorized
adam dunn, alex rios, baltimore orioles, chicago white sox, felix pie, gavin floyd, gordon beckham, juan pierre, mark reynolds, ozzie guillen, paul konerko
