124

Jim Thome ended an "ofer" series by driving in A.J. Pierzynski with the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, and Bobby Jenks shut down the Angels in their last raps to earn his eighth save, as the White Sox came from behind (after blowing a lead) to win last night in Anaheim, 4-3. Javier Vazquez contributed another quality start -- 6.2 innings, three runs (only two of them earned) -- while Octavio Dotel got the win to even his record at 2-2. A.J., again batting second in Ozzie's revised lineup, had three hits on the night, two of them doubles, and the team reached double digits (10) in hits again, with the two through seven batters in the order each getting at least one safety.

It was the first time all year that the Sox won without hitting a home run, having lost their previous 10 homerless games, as well as the first time in 20 games that they won after trailing after eight innings. It was their seventh comeback win of the season, and they avoided racking up their eighth loss after losing a lead. The Sox won for the third time in their last at bat; they've allowed their opponents to do it twice. The Sox now have a 16-7 record when receiving a quality start, and are 12-4 when they notch 10 or more hits.

The win evened the team's record at 20-20, shaving the Magic Number to 124, and keeping the Sox 1.5 games back of Cleveland, tied with Minnesota for second. So far, The Update's plan for the road trip is on track -- taking two out of three from the Mariners and splitting the series with the Angels. We were hoping for another series win when the Sox face the (now) 17-25 Giants, but with San Francisco having lost two in a row and the Good Guys having won a pair, we're looking for the Sox to sweep the three-game set. Greedy? Yes. Unreasonable? No. Just do it.

So, with a quarter of the season in the books the Sox are not in a bad position. They've struggled on the road (.458), but have lots of games left to play at home, where they do much better (.568). Projecting each of the Central Division teams' records based on how they've performed at home and away so far shows the Indians winning 87 games, the Sox 83, the Twins 78, the Royals 77, and the Tigers 63. We think they're all going to do better than that, but maybe The Update and everyone else has overestimated the strength of the division. It's time to build on the momentum of these two wins against the first-place Angels, sweep the Giants, and come home to do some damage at the Cell. Go Sox!