34

The White Sox blew a golden opportunity this afternoon to cut Detroit's lead to 3.5 games. The Tigers lost to the Yankees earlier today, and the Sox were leading Tampa Bay, 3-2, after Javier Vazquez gave them seven strong innings. The Sox have been virtually a lock to win when leading after seven, racking up a 63-2 record in that situation before today. They've been almost as good when getting a quality start like Vazquez gave them, going 57-8 prior to this. But the games aren't played on paper (had to dust off that cliche before using it), and Matt Thornton and Brandon MacCarthy blew it. Thornton blew the save, giving up a game-tying homer in the eighth, and B-Mac took the loss, allowing a single, wild pitch, two walks (one intentional), and another single -- all of which resulted in the two-run, game-winning margin (5-3).

Detroit's loss drops the Magic Number to 34 and keeps the White Sox 4.5 games out of the Central Division lead. KC finally turned back into a pumpkin, losing to Minnesota today and permitting the Twins to inch back within a half game of the Sox in the Wild Card race. The Sox cannot afford to blow games like this one, or waste one of Vazquez's better performances, as they have been few and far between this season. The Good Guys must do better tomorrow. Go Sox!