| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- Frank Thomas sure knows how to end a slump.
After Jason Isringhausen balked home the tying run in the ninth
inning, Thomas drove in the game winner in the 10th Saturday night
as the Chicago White Sox rallied to beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3.
|  | | Ben Grieve leads off the seventh with a home run off Jim Parque, his 20th of the season. |
The victory was Chicago's fifth in the last 13 games, and it
preserved its nine-game lead over second-place Cleveland in the AL
Central.
"We needed it," Thomas said. "The guys have been looking at
each other lately like, 'What's going on here?' ... We've got a
special season going, a lot of young, hungry guys. Let's keep it
going."
With Jose Valentin on first following a single off T.J. Mathews
(2-3), Thomas doubled to deep left-center. It looked like it might
go over the wall, but it dropped just short.
Ben Grieve grabbed it and threw hard to cutoff man Miguel
Tejada, who threw a one-hopper to home. But the throw was a little
wide and Ramon Hernandez had to move off the plate. Valentin,
running hard all the way, saw a clearing and slid head-first,
swiping his hand across the plate before Hernandez could turn and
make the tag.
"We had them where we wanted them, but we couldn't close the
deal," said A's manager Art Howe, who agreed Valentin was safe.
"Ramon was probably a little frustrated with his error in the
ninth. The one error, the one mistake is all it takes sometimes."
Valentin collapsed with relief when plate umpire Paul Emmel
called him safe, and his teammates flooded out of the dugout and
piled on top of him.
"We needed this one," Valentin said. "It feels good. Today's
win was one of the biggest so far because it's late in the year and
we need to keep winning."
Keith Foulke (3-0) pitched two hitless innings, throwing what
manager Jerry Manuel called his best changeup of the year.
But it was Thomas who came through the biggest for the White
Sox. His resurgence this year is a big reason the White Sox have
the best record in the AL, and the team struggles when he does.
He was hitting .233 his last 12 games and hadn't homered since
July 17, but A's pitching coach Rick Peterson warned Gil Heredia
before the game that Thomas wasn't going to stay quiet for long. He
didn't, homering off Heredia on a 1-0 pitch in the first inning.
"I threw it where it had to be to go out of the ball park,"
Heredia said. "Sometimes you just have to smile and move on after
a game like that."
It was Thomas' 30th home run, the most since he hit 35 in 1997.
"All he wants to do is win and whatever it takes, he's willing
to do it," manager Jerry Manuel said. "This is so close for him,
he's willing to sacrifice anything he can to win. Eventually, he's
going to get hot and when he's right, he can carry the team."
Thomas finished the night 3-for-5 with two RBI.
The A's problems in the ninth began when Isringhausen walked
Carlos Lee, his second batter. Pinch-runner Chris Singleton stole
second and went to third when Hernandez's throw bounced into the
outfield for an error.
Singleton didn't stay there long. Isringhausen was reading the
signs with Jeff Abbott at the plate when he twitched not once, but
twice. They were slight twitches, but Emmel called a balk.
"Crazy things happen," Isringhausen said. "That's never
happened to me before and it won't again. I'll be more patient next
time."
Oakland rallied for two runs in the seventh, thanks to a
controversial call. Hernandez was swinging on a 2-2 pitch when he
was hit on the left wrist by reliever Bobby Howry. Though Hernandez
had gotten his hands around, Emmel ruled he'd been hit by a pitch
and sent him to first to load the bases.
Pinch-hitting for Ryan Christenson, Jeremy Giambi hit a
sacrifice fly to left, scoring pinch-runner Frank Menechino and
giving Oakland the 3-2 lead.
Grieve led off the seventh with a home run off Jim Parque, his
20th of the season. Grieve also drove in a run in the fourth.
Game notes
Heredia's quest for his career-high 14th victory was
stopped. Heredia had won his last four decisions. ... Parque struck
out a career-high nine. ... Thomas' first-inning homer was the 76th
of his career. ... Thomas has hit 30 or more home runs in six
seasons.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Oakland Clubhouse
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
RECAPS
Kansas City 7
Boston 5
Toronto 8
Texas 5
Cleveland 6
Anaheim 3
Tampa Bay 5
Baltimore 4
Seattle 6
NY Yankees 5
Detroit 4
Minnesota 3
Chi. White Sox 4
Oakland 3
St. Louis 5
Atlanta 0
Colorado 7
Philadelphia 6
Chicago Cubs 6
San Diego 3
Pittsburgh 7
San Francisco 2
Florida 10
Cincinnati 5
Montreal 10
Houston 9
NY Mets 6
Arizona 2
Milwaukee 4
Los Angeles 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jose Valentine is thankful he was able to score the winning run on Sunday.
wav: 102 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jerry Manuel says the White Sox play aggressive baseball.
wav: 193 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
