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Chicago White Sox beat Baltimore Orioles 4-1: Carlos Quentin homers and John Danks allows just 1 runAug 23, 2009 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- With the three-quarter pole of the season already past and the White Sox still chasing the Tigers, a sense of urgency crept into the fall-like air Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Field. "Every game we play is getting bigger and bigger, tougher and tougher," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "The closer you get to the end of the season, the harder it's going to be. If you get into the playoffs, even harder."[The players] have to know. We went through it [in 2005 and last season]. They have experience. As long as we don't panic, as long as they keep playing the same way they've been doing right now, I think everything will be set up." Everything was working -- maybe not in perfect order, but working -- Saturday night as the White Sox stopped Baltimore 4-1 before a crowd of 34,730. The Tigers, who held a three-game lead over the Sox in the AL Central, played in Oakland. The offense was not terribly efficient and starter John Danks barely squeezed past the first three innings, but ... "Right now we're not looking at how we win or lose," Guillen said. "A win is a good thing, a loss is a bad thing." Danks pitched one of the ugliest three innings of shutout ball ever -- throwing 60 pitches and allowing seven base-runners, five of them on walks -- before finally settling in. His third inning started with a pair of walks, although the first one was erased trying to steal. Then came a dropped liner by left fielder Carlos Quentin, a visit from Guillen and another walk to No. 3 hitter Adam Jones. Bases loaded, one out and D.J. Carrasco warmed and waiting in the bullpen. But Danks found himself, striking out cleanup man Nick Markakis and then coaxing Nolan Reimold into an inning-ending popup. "I was one ball away from coming out of the game in the third inning," Danks said. And then came seven straight outs, none of them leaving the infield. Danks left in the seventh inning, but one of his runners scored on a Matt Thornton wild pitch. Octavio Dotel and Bobby Jenks (save 27) finished up. "He battled through," Guillen said. "This kid's a warrior, he goes out with his heart." Danks has had a circulation problem in his finger that makes it hard for him to feel the ball. "[But it's not] nearly as bad as it looks," he said. "Everything's fine. I'm not using it as an excuse, it was just a matter of me now throwing strikes." Meanwhile, the offense backed Danks with a rather inefficient four runs through five innings, leaving six runners on base in the process. The first run came on Carlos Quentin's homer leading off the second. That gave Quentin home runs in three straight games for the second time this season. The Sox added two more in the fourth inning on a walk, hit batter, single, Alexei Ramirez's RBI single and Mark Kotsay's sacrifice fly. And in the fifth, a wild pitch scored Jermaine Dye, who had walked. Even the defense chipped in, with Gordon Beckham making two spectacular plays at third base. "I've been working every day," the rookie said. "It's good to finally make some good plays." Guillen likes what he has seen in Beckham's fielding. "For the [short] time he has been playing third base, he has been playing great," Guillen said. HOW THEY SCORED Carlos Quentin homered, John Danks pitched into the seventh inning and the White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 Saturday night. Danks (11-8) walked six but allowed just one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Matt Thornton worked a scoreless inning, Octavio Dotel got two outs and Bobby Jenks finished for his 27th save in 31 opportunities. David Hernandez (4-6) allowed three runs and three hits over four innings for Baltimore. To see more of the Chicago Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.chicagotribune.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Chicago Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |