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Thursday, Aug. 24 2:05pm ET
Hill's Chicago debut lasts 2 1/3 innings | |||||
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- Ken Hill's debut for the Chicago White Sox was a short one. He didn't give their beleaguered starting rotation the lift it needed Thursday because he didn't make it past the third inning. Baltimore jumped on the veteran right-hander for six runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings and Brook Fordyce had three RBI against his former team as the Orioles beat the White Sox 8-5. "Actually, I felt pretty good. The stuff was there, but I got behind guys and that did me in," said Hill, making his first start since Aug. 2, just before he was released by the Anaheim Angels. "It's been a while," he said. "I haven't been out there in three weeks and it's a matter of getting comfortable." Hill (5-8) was signed to a minor league contract by the White Sox, whose pitching staff has two starters, Cal Eldred and Jon Garland, on the disabled list while another, James Baldwin, has a tired arm. Hill was added to the roster before Thursday's game. "I want to prove to these guys I can do what what they got me for. That's to help and that's what I want to do," said Hill, bothered by an arthritic elbow and strained rib cage muscle. Manager Jerry Manuel wouldn't commit to giving Hill another start, saying his status would be discussed as the team made a trip to Seattle for the start of a crucial six-game West Coast trip. Chicago's lead over Cleveland in the AL Central was sliced to 6½ games with the Indians facing Oakland on Thursday night. Hill walked four Thursday and when he threw the ball over the plate, it got hit. "He had good velocity on his pitches. It was just uncharacteristic for him to be erratic," Manuel said. Fordyce, traded from the White Sox to the Orioles last month, hit a two-run single and a sacrifice fly. Doing it against his former team, he said, was no big deal. "I just go out there and play," said Fordyce, who's had hits in 15 of his 19 games with the Orioles. "I just had some situations where I could knock some runs in and it worked out. That's all it was." Jose Mercedes (9-5) allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He held the White Sox without a hit until Carlos Lee's one-out single in the fifth. Trailing 6-0, the White Sox broke through in the sixth on Jose Valentin's RBI single. Herbert Perry's run-scoring double and an RBI single by Chris Singleton in the seventh finished Mercedes, who is 6-1 since the All-Star break. "My job is not in the bullpen, not if I'm going to be successful," said Mercedes, who has 13 starts and 16 relief appearances this season. "I know I can pitch. If not here, somewhere else. The way I'm pitching, someone will have a spot for me." Jerry Hairston hit an RBI double in the Orioles ninth. Charles Johnson, traded to the White Sox in the deal that included Fordyce, had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. It marked the first earned run allowed by rookie reliever Ryan Kohlmeier, who had made 10 appearances spanning 12 innings. Hill walked Jeff Conine and Chris Richard in the second before giving up a two-run, two-out double to .235 hitter Mark Lewis. Brady Anderson walked in the third and scored on Melvin Mora's triple high off the left-field wall. Albert Belle singled to make it 4-0 and another single by Conine and walk to Richard loaded the bases and finished Hill. Fordyce greeted reliever Mark Buehrle with a two-run single. The White Sox had second and third and no outs in the eighth but managed just a single run on Frank Thomas' sacrifice fly. Game notesCal Ripken, on the disabled list, celebrated his 40th birthday Thursday. ... It was Mercedes' second win over the White Sox in 10 days. He beat them with an eight-inning, one-run effort Aug. 14 at Camden Yards. ... RHP Kevin Beirne was demoted to Triple-A Charlotte to clear room for Hill on the roster. Hill had been bothered by an arthritic elbow and strained rib cage muscle this season. ... Sox second baseman Ray Durham left the game in the eighth with a tender hamstring. He'd been hobbling for a couple of innings. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Baltimore Clubhouse Chi. White Sox Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 8 Texas 7
Baltimore 8
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