With the Bulls and Cubs also playing Tuesday night, the White Sox were regulated to air on the rarely used Comcast SportsNet Plus Two, which broke from its “Softball 360” marathon to showcase the game. The Sox played to the level of the channel, enduring a one hour and 46-minute rain delay before forcing fans to suffer though poorly played 9-7 win over the Royals.
This was a game neither team wanted to win. Sox starter Javier Vazquez gave up five runs in six innings and Matt Thorton blew his third save opportunity. Ultimately, Kansas City’s bullpen’s determination to lose took over. Royal reliever Brandon Duckworth gave up a pair of home runs in the eighth, and in the ninth Joakim Soria made a throwing error that would have made the “Bad News Bears” jealous.
Jim Thome sat out due to a minor irritation in his rib cage. Replacing him was Darrin Erstad, who was batting .204 with a lone home run entering the contest. Although not the most obvious choice for DH, Erstad repaid manager Ozzie Guillen’s confidence by driving in two runs in the sixth inning.
Brian Bannister, son of former Sox pitcher Floyd Bannister, started for the Royals, supported by a batting order that included Tony Pena Jr., son of the former big leaguer and longtime manager. Seeing so many familiar names in the lineup caused Guillen to allow his own son, Ozzie Jr., to pinch-hit in the eigth inning.
“Brian Anderson was scheduled to hit, so I wasn’t expecting a base runner anyway,” said Guillen. “Besides, there was no way anyone was still watching the game by that point.”
Number of the Day: 1
Career wins for Boone Logan after picking up the “W” Tuesday night.
