156

Dr. Longball paid a house call on the White Sox in Comerica Park on Monday. The Sox used four home runs to power a 10-6 win over the Tigers. Jermaine Dye, who has hit more homers than any other outfielder since 2005, smacked his second of the season and 300th of his career in the second inning. Then it was deja vu all over again as next batter, Paul Konerko, did the exact same thing: poked his second of the season and 300th of his career. The only way for Carlos Quentin to top that was to smash two taters -- his third and fourth of the season and fourth in four games. Konerko copied Dye again in the sixth inning, following J.D.'s double with one of his own. All told, the Sox collected 16 hits, eight for extra bases, in their most impressive offensive display of the young season. After today's fireworks, the Sox have four starters hitting over .300: Fields (who also made a nifty play at third) at .318; Q, who is making up for his long dryspell to open the season, at .333; Dye at .370; and Paulie at .346.

All this hitting was enough to make up for some shaky starting pitching by Gavin Floyd. After losing a well-pitched game last week, Floyd won a poorly pitched one today. His stats demonstrate just how lucky he was to get a win: five hits, seven walks, six runs, all in only five innings. Fortunately, the bullpen put out the fire that Floyd had started. D.J. Carrasco, two innings, and Matt Thornton and Scott Linebrink, one inning each, didn't give up a run. Neither of the latter two has given up an earned run this year.

The big loss for the Sox came when Dewayne Wise made a tumbling, over-the-shoulder catch in right center that probably saved a couple of runs, but wound up with Wise suffering a separated shoulder. He'll be out for six weeks, causing Kenny Williams to call up Jerry Lee (not Lewis, but) Owens from Charlotte, where he's off to a rousing 1 for 7 start. Brian Anderson, who replaced Wise in the field and walked twice and stole two bases, will get the first chance to prove he deserves to be the centerfielder. Given Wise's washout as a leadoff hitter -- he started the season 0 for 8 -- it doesn't seem like a big loss. But Wise had been coming on after moving down in the order, racking up five hits in his last 11 at bats. We like how B.A. plays center (remember the diving catch to end the tiebreaker game last year?) and how he hits lefties and are hoping that this will turn into a Lou Gehrig-Wally Pipp situation.

Anyway, the win over the Tigers catapults the Sox back into first place over Detroit and Kansas City, who are a half game back. It also chips away at the Magic Number, which now stands at 156, and counting. Go Sox!